


Cold Brew

by Maiika, Thisismycanon



Series: Team Minato Coffee Shop AU [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Lawyers, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Relationships, Crush at First Sight, F/M, Fluff and Humor, MinaKushi, POV Rin, Pining, Present Tense, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:40:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 34,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26302081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maiika/pseuds/Maiika, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisismycanon/pseuds/Thisismycanon
Summary: Serving coffee to Madara’s coffeehouse patrons pays the bills while Rin works her way through nursing school.  Her boss thinks she’s dead weight. Her coworkers are chaotic.  But beyond that, Rin likes the atmosphere and she enjoys catching glimpses into her customers‘ lives.Especially when it comes to the guy who always orders the cold brew.KakaRin CoffeeShop AU
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Nohara Rin
Series: Team Minato Coffee Shop AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985800
Comments: 133
Kudos: 84





	1. The Right Ingredients

**Author's Note:**

> ---  
  
There is _never_ a good time to get her schoolwork done here.

After the electronic door chime notifies Rin of a customer’s untimely entrance through the coffee shop’s glass door, she snaps her laptop shut, swings her legs down from the barstool, and lets her ballet flats hit the weathered wood with soft thumps. She was finally, _finally_ getting somewhere with the help of soothing coffeehouse jazz while working on her ocular anatomy report due tomorrow, but now she’ll most likely have to reclaim the groove she’d found at home. She gets off soon anyway. Obito or Kushina will be here any minute to relieve her, assuming timeliness on their part. In Obito’s case...that’s a big assumption. In Kushina’s case, the time it takes for Rin to be released _after_ her arrival is usually the problem.

The customer approaches the counter with a bright blonde head of hair dipped down to shield his face from Rin’s view, leather briefcase tucked against his white trenchcoat, and a red slimline phone propped between his ear and shoulder. He’s speaking legalese as far as Rin can understand it, but she isn’t one to eavesdrop on customers anyway. When he looks up, Rin recognizes this familiar face though she doesn’t know him by name. As he wraps up his conversation and catches Rin’s smile over the counter with the most vivid blue eyes Rin has ever seen, she secretly wishes for Kushina to be the one relieving her tonight. Rin loves how this customer gets flustered whenever _she’s_ around.

“Hello,” he says, his voice like silk and sunshine on a rainy day. “I’d like to order a latte, please.”

Rin glances at the back door over her shoulder as she reaches for the register. “Sure. What size?”

She’s hoping to see fiery red past that doorway when she hears the shuffles of someone unloading their things, but all she sees is black. It's either too dark in there, or not Kushina’s shift tonight.

“Let’s make it a medium,” the customer says as he tucks his cellphone into the wide pocket of his trench. “I’m bound to lose sleep tonight if I drink too much caffeine this late in the afternoon.”

Rin punches in the order, pursing her lips as she hears the telling sounds of a thump followed by Obito’s sharp cry. No Kushina tonight, and therefore her wasted efforts at the laptop are becoming a total loss.

“Are you okay, Miss?”

Rin gasps, forcing a smile as she turns back to the customer. She’s pretty good at customer service. She doesn’t like to let a person leave the coffee house without the feeling of luxury and satisfaction that comes with the aromatic atmosphere, cave-like decor of their stone walls and decorative chalk art, and delicate flavors of their unique grounds and flavorful additions. She also doesn’t want to be fired (she needs this job to hold steady until she at least earns her degree) though she’s sure Madara would _love_ the excuse to fire her. So she does her best, knowing he has it in for her, hoping he never has to learn about this customer feeling the need to smile at her with concern in his eyes.

“Y-yes, sorry,” she groans, tucking a stray lock of caramel-highlighted hair behind her ear as she enters the payment and watches the man take his card back from the scanner. “I’m just a little distracted tonight. My shift’s about to end and I have a big paper due tomorrow.”

“Oh.” He brightens with a smile. “You’re a student.”

“Nursing school,” Rin says with a shrug. Her cheeks warm under his attentive gaze. “I have a year left.”

“Good luck with your paper then,” he says as Rin breaks herself from her stupor and turns to the machines behind her to prepare his drink. “I have a big day tomorrow, too.”

“That’s the reason for...not too much caffeine?” Rin asks over her shoulder, though as she grinds the fresh beans and their scent fills the air, she knows only the most regular of coffee drinkers can refer to a medium latte as _reduced_ caffeine.

“Yes, I–”

He stops, or maybe Rin doesn’t hear his soft voice over the whirring hum of the machines, but as she glances sideways, she catches sight of Obito stepping toward the counter, swinging his arms and black material around as he ties on his apron.   
  


“Oh,” says the customer, “good afternoon, Obito.”

“Minato!” Obito says, beaming as he waves, leaving his apron tied crookedly behind his waist. “How was court yesterday?”

“Great. I think it went really well,” _Minato_ says. “Our new intern is very impressive.”

Obito looks at Rin, hitching a thumb over his shoulder in Minato’s direction as she delivers his scalding hot latte across the counter. “This guy’s a bigshot lawyer, Rin. You know he’s from that huge law firm down the street? The one with the guy on all the billboards?”

Rin blinks as she recalls one of a few, which she sees signs for every time she passes on her walk home. “Jiraiya…?”

“Yes.” Minato chuckles amicably as he slides the coffee into his cupped palms. “That’s the one. Anyway, speaking of court, I have to prepare my documents for day two tomorrow. Thank you for the coffee and good luck again on your paper.”

“Thanks,” Rin says. “And good luck in court!”

“Do you uh,” Obito says as the door chimes, swinging closed behind Minato while Obito shifts around to Rin’s side, “have a lot left on that paper?”

Rin gives him a smile and a shrug. “Sort of?”

“Then go,” Obito says, nodding toward the front door, “I’ve got it from here.”

“Oh, but I didn’t show you what I did with the rece–”

“Uh-uh!” Obito snaps, shooing Rin away from the register before she can properly show him the complicated pile she’s made of the receipts, which are bound to confuse him and ultimately anger Madara. “Don’t waste another second here, Rin! I want you to get an A on that paper!”

“Obito,” Rin groans.

She turns to further her protest, but he’s already grabbing her by the waist, ushering her through the pass-through between the stone counter edges. Her feet are marching her to the door - the front door - and she hadn’t planned on leaving that way. Her laptop is still behind the counter, her purse in the back room.

She swivels on her heels. “My-”

“Here!” Obito races up to her, pushing her laptop to her chest with a brilliant smile on his flushed face. When Rin curls her fingers around its plastic edges, Obito brings his arm forward, procuring the purse swinging from his elbow like a pendulum.

“Oh!” Rin laughs as she loops her arm through the leather strap. “Thank you!”

“Now, go! Not another word!”

“Obito,” Rin says as she feels her smile spread from ear to ear, “you are the _best_ friend, you know that?”

As Rin turns, Obito’s laughter rings behind her, sounding restrained and nervous. “Bye!”

She waves but doesn’t turn back, knowing Obito too well to do that. He will only scold her for taking longer than necessary to leave. He’s already ushered her out and he won’t give her the chance to linger any longer. So she rushes to push open the glass door without recognizing the approach of a figure from the other side. She’s pushed back, jostled, before she realizes her mistake. With her cheeks burning, she turns to offer an apology to the person whose shoulder slides against hers.

“Oh, soh...o...oh…”

Rin openly gawks as a pair of dark, heavy-lidded eyes look down on her from beneath a fringe of silver hair. Rin’s eyes wander down the ends of the fringe to the high cheekbones they graze just above a supple pair of lips. A distinct mole and sharp jawline accentuate the clean-shaven face. Aside from a scar bisecting his left eye, Rin cannot find one flaw on this guy. He even _smells_ good with just a hint of his cologne perforating through the heavy cloud of coffee in the air. Judging by his stature, the figure hidden beneath his ankle-length gray trench coat isn’t so bad, either.

“Sorry?” he says.

Rin gulps as she registers the suggestion in his deep voice. He isn’t apologizing to _her._ He’s helping her apologize to him. Because like an idiot, Rin has become tongue-tied and is practically drooling while he stares at her.

“S-Sorry! I’m so sorry. Rin.”

He raises a brow. “Rin?”

“My name,” Rin says with a shake of her head, blinking away her disbelief at herself for blurting out her name like he actually wants to know it. “That’s...my name.”

“Ah.” He slips his hands into his pockets and turns his back to her as he enters the coffee shop. He says nothing more.

“Hey, jerk!” Obito calls from inside, his voice carrying to the open doorway. “The polite thing to do when a pretty girl introduces herself is to give her _your_ name!”

“Obito!” Rin says through clenched teeth.

She feels her cheeks burn as the handsome stranger turns back to her and allows his gaze to linger as if taking in her appearance for the first time. He doesn’t look disappointed, so that’s a good sign. His dark eyes and stoic expression are hard to read, though. Rin is suddenly seized by the urge to smack herself. She has to be delusional if she’s entertaining the idea that there’s any hope here. A guy like this doesn’t take a sudden interest in a plain Jane like her.

“Kakashi,” he says with a shrug.

Rin blinks at him. “Huh?”

“Kakashi.” He slips one hand from his pocket to give her a slow, lazy wave. “Nice to meet you. Can I get my coffee now?”

“Y-yes! Please!” Rin waves him inside, as if he needs her invitation or grand gesture. She tries to hide her blush as he continues watching her. “Again, I’m so sorry I bumped you. I wasn’t looking where I was going and…”

“It’s fine,” he says as he turns to head toward the counter.

He tips his chin at Obito and with his next words, he puts in an order for a cold brew. He doesn’t give Rin a second thought. Obito watches Rin past Kakashi’s shoulder, through the glass, looking disappointed in her. He probably saw the way she looked at _him,_ but she can’t help herself. Kakashi is absolutely gorgeous and Rin has been so busy with work and school that her dating statistics pale in comparison to most women her age. She rolls her eyes at herself and turns into the sharpness of a cool breeze and the myriad of smells from the city, hoping she’ll have a chance to see him again and make a better impression. Kakashi. It’s an unusual name, but it’s his name. Seeing that Rin has never met a man of such few words, with good looks _and_ silver hair in spite of his evident youth, Rin has to say the unusual name fits. She might never see him again, but after the long night of researching and writing she’s in for, maybe the exhaustion she’s due to have will lull her into dreams where she _can_ see him and say something more impressive than an aborted apology and unsolicited introduction.

When she reaches the door of her apartment building with the sunset nearly blinding her from reading the numbers as she keys in her entry, Rin tries to shift her mind to her studies. The eye is a very important part of the anatomy she must know. But right now all she wants to think about is _his_ eyes and how dark and smoldering they looked. With a groan, Rin pulls open the lobby door and enters the stifling air of her building realizing she has it bad. She hasn’t crushed on a guy like this in a long time. And he’d already forgotten about her while he was still in her presence.

Rin scrubs a hand down her face as she crosses the hall to her door. “I can’t believe I said that.”

She fumbles in her purse for her key, her laptop tucked beneath her arm and her mind far more of a fumbling mess than she has in her hands. She could’ve been smoother with that interaction. She always handles customers well, in spite of what Madara thinks of her. Of course it’s the _one_ customer she cares to impress to whom she’s presented herself as an idiot.

With a deep breath, after finding her key and gaining access to her apartment, Rin does her best to push all thoughts of Kakashi aside. She has to do as Obito said. She needs to focus and ace this paper. Nothing is more important at this stage in her life than becoming a nurse. Kakashi might be appealing, and Rin might wish she could go back in the past and do that encounter over again, but that is neither here nor there. Now, there is only her apartment, her laptop, and her paper.

She has a future to write for herself.


	2. Taking Measures

Rin is _so_ tired when she arrives to work in the morning. 

Seeing that Madara’s has to be open at the asscrack of dawn to fulfill coffee orders for their early-rising customers’ caffeine cravings, Rin has to wake up at an ungodly hour to be here on time for this first shift. It’s still dark and cold as the heat is coming on, with no sign of the sun out Madara’s front glass windows beyond the subtle purpling of the sky Rin catches between buildings. The coffeehouse is completely cast in shadows, and Rin is reluctant to flick on the lights. If she just _leans_ over the counter and wraps herself in her fluffy coat, she might be able to close her eyes a bit longer. As she drops her purse at the back room table, Rin longingly eyes the smoothness of the stone counter’s edge reflecting a sliver of red from the light of their espresso machine.

“What is this?”

Rin’s chest _clenches._ Her voice catches in her throat as she spins on her heels to the deep voice projecting from the dark corner of the back room. As her heart rate skyrockets and her mind works through the few self-defense techniques she knows, it slowly dawns on her that the voice is coming from her boss’s favorite chair. And it sounds very familiar. A wrinkled face edges forward from the shadows, hidden behind a veil of thick white hair parted just enough to show the displeasure in Madara’s deep-sunken eyes.

_“Shit,”_ Rin breathes as she clenches a hand over her furiously pumping heart, “Madara. You scared me.”

“I said,” Madara says as he thrusts something toward Rin, “what is this?”

Rin cocks her head and accepts the pile of thin paper scraps Madara thrusts into her hand with a frown, knowing she won’t hear an apology from him. She doesn’t get a greeting even on normal days. Starting the day off with his look of scrutiny is not a good start to her morning. At least she doesn’t have to worry about her battle with lethargy anymore.

“I don’t…” Rin trails off as she flips through the papers, recognizing the receipts she’d left with Obito. “They’re receipts.”

“And what are they doing left on _my_ counter overnight?”

Rin gives a shake of her head and tries to return the assorted receipts to Madara. “I tried to let Obito know–”

Madara doesn’t reach for the papers pinched between Rin’s fingers but instead raises his skeletal hand, which, coming from Madara, shuts Rin up as effectively as someone shouting over her. “I will talk to Obito,” he says. “You, on the other hand, were the one on shift when this sad excuse for record keeping happened…”

Rin bites her lip and takes her lecture as Madara goes on. She knows there is nothing she can say to convince Madara that she knows what she’s doing. She would almost think he was sexist for his clear favoritism of Obito, but he doesn’t treat Kushina this way. He can’t even seem to remember her name. He just has it out for Rin.

Rin shifts her stance and eases the pressure on her feet as Madara starts wrapping up his monologue. She has work to do. The receipts are inconsequential, as good as garbage. There’s no reason to waste any more time talking about them, but she needs to let Madara get it out of his system now or she won’t live this down for weeks.

Rin taps her foot when Madara’s winddown begins sounding more like a wind _up._ “Um...isn’t it about time…?”

Madara flicks a glance at the clock past Rin’s head with a scoff. His dismissive wave releases her. As Madara turns his back to her, reaching beneath his desk to procure his oversized adding machine, Rin turns for the storefront with a deep breath. She makes fast work of her setup, knowing it’ll only be minutes before someone arrives at their door looking for their cup of joe. If she isn’t prepared when that happens, she’ll get another earful from Madara before this shift is over. At least in the morning rush, she’ll have help. Kushina will probably be the one to join her since Obito was here the night before. Rin scowls at the clock when that thought strikes her. Five minutes until opening and no sign of Kushina. She’s never late.

“Hello, hello!” The clatter of the back room door, paired with Kushina’s unmistakable voice, adds an instant layer of brightness to the coffee house to accompany the coloring of the sky outside. _“Good_ mornin’, Boss Man.”

“Kushina!” Rin says, beaming as she spins around to greet the colorful woman bursting forth from the back room.

Kushina greets Rin with her finger jousting in Madara’s direction and her face contorted by a raised brow and disbelieving grimace. Rin giggles, but covers her mouth to avoid prompting another Madara lecture. They both know how strange it is for Madara to be in the coffee house at this hour. Usually, he likes to operate in the shadows only while the shop is closed. Rin wouldn’t be surprised if no one beyond his staff even knows he’s alive.

“Hey, Sweetie!” Kushina hurls her oversized bag from her shoulder into the space beneath the counter like it’s nothing, though Rin’s lifted that bag before and knows it’s anything but light _._ “What’s up with you? Anythin’ interesting happen here during the late shift?”

“Well,” Rin says, feeling her budding grin split her face as she recalls formally meeting Minato, “your favorite customer stopped in.”

Kushina wrinkles her nose until its perfect curve is nearly scrunched up to her forehead. _“My_ favorite customer? Who?”

Rin laughs as she reaches for the stack of black aprons behind the counter, taking one for herself and handing the other to Kushina. “Gorgeous face, smooth voice, _beautiful_ blue eyes just for you...”

Kushina slips the apron over her head and quirks a brow. “You talkin’ about the quiet one who can’t form a complete sentence?”

“Oh,” Rin hums as she ties off her apron with fingers still strained from typing, “Minato was pretty eloquent yesterday speaking to me and Obito.”

“Minato, hm?” Kushina blows an inelegant raspberry and slaps Rin’s shoulder. “Honey, he doesn’t have eyes for me.”

“Hey, you,” Madara calls from the back room. “Red!”

“Kushina!” Kushina barks over her shoulder.

“Set down the chairs. And try not to be so loud. Maybe our customers will sit down and actually _buy_ the other bullshit we sell with our coffee.”

Rin rolls her eyes at that as Kushina maneuvers through the small dining area, her long red hair like a shimmering cape flowing behind her around the tables. Rin puts a lot of time into curating that “other bullshit” - pastries, prepackaged treats and quirky mugs sold over the counter. At least Obito loves everything she chooses. And Kushina can always be relied on to find another clever saying to add to their endless supply of coffee puns.

“So,” Kushina growls as she hefts the final chair down onto the hardwood, “anything _else_ interesting happen yesterday?”

“Umm…”

Rin presses her lips together as flashes of warm contact, heavy-lidded eyes, a handsome face and a smooth, deep voice play through her mind. At the first kindling of heat building beneath her skin, she pushes all thought of Kakashi aside with a shake of her head. Kushina will tease her _mercilessly_ once she knows Rin has a crush. Or worse, she’ll interact with Kakashi someday on Rin’s behalf and _really_ embarrass her.

“Nope,” Rin lies with a smile, “nothing. I mean, you’ll have to ask Obito if anything happened after I left to wri–”

“Oh!” Kushina exclaims, her voice loud enough to carry through the glass door to the sidewalk outside. “Your paper. Did you finish it? Did you turn it in? How do you think you did?”

“Kushina,” Rin giggles, crossing her arms and propping a hip on the smooth counter edge, “I just wrote it last night. It’s...barely five am.”

“Yeah, so?” Kushina raises an impertinent brow. “You can email it, can’t ya? Get it to that professor! You need to get it graded so you can get your ass into that hospital!”

Rin turns her eyes to the swinging glass door without time to respond to Kushina. The chime had sounded during her rush of demands and now their first customer of the day is walking in with her heels tapping the wood floors, her hands concealed in the pockets of a green car coat, and her honey brown eyes cast up toward the overhead menu.

“Good morning,” Rin says.

“What d’ya want?” Kushina asks as she skirts her way past the tables to join Rin behind the counter.

The customer narrows honey brown eyes at Kushina as the chill from outside filters in through the door closing behind her. Maybe it’s not just the temperature making the air chillier, though. Because this woman is able to stare down _Kushina_ like it’s nothing. As Rin skims her eyes down the lady’s neckline framed by long blonde hair to the parting of her coat that happens with the lifting of her hand, she spies a plastic badge hanging from the jeweled lanyard around her neck. Rin’s jaw drops when she recognizes the logo for Konoha Hospital, and then finds the title, “Doctor”. This is a doctor from the hospital to which Rin wants desperately to be accepted for her internship. She’s applied, and she’s waiting, and her acceptance depends on the results of her latest assignments...as well as the response of the supervising hospital staff. Rin’s sure this _Tsunade Senju_ must be someone of authority there, given the way she carries herself as if she’s used to being in control wherever she goes.

“Rude,” Tsunade says to Kushina before shifting her glare to Rin. “You. You can take my order.”

Rin blinks rapidly. “S-sure! Yes, _doctor,”_ she emphasizes as she slides a warning glare Kushina’s way. “What can I get you?”

Tsunade lifts her eyes to the menu again. “A large americano with sugar. _Don’t_ make it too sweet. And leave the top inch of the cup empty,” she says as she peels a hand from her pocket with a credit card pinched between manicured fingernails.

“Right,” Rin says with a nod, swallowing around the lump forming in her throat. She nods to the machines at her back. “Kushina, can you?”

As she punches in the order, listens to the shuffles and machines of Kushina‘s preparation, and accepts the doctor’s payment, Rin feels sweat moistening her skin beneath the fleece of her jacket she has yet to shed. She wants to ask Tsunade about the internship positions. She’s grasping for an opener, some way to start, but there’s just no way that won’t make her feel like she’s pushing the limit here. The doctor doesn’t want to be bothered by an internship hopeful when she’s on her way to the hospital, or important training, or a meeting. 

Kushina brushes Rin’s shoulder, radiating the warmth of the large coffee cup she’s sliding across the counter, jarring Rin from her thoughts.

“So you’re a doctor?” Kushina says, looking Tsunade up and down before nodding toward Rin. “You know my girl here applied to intern at your hospital with top scores in her class, right? She’s going to be the best damn nurse Konoha’s ever seen.”

As Tsunade raises a brow at Rin, Rin’s cheeks surge with heat. “Kushina!”

Kushina shakes off Rin’s tightening grasp around her forearm and narrows her blue eyes at the doctor. “So. You goin’ to hire her?”

Tsunade Senju turns her unimpressed stare to Kushina as she reaches deep into her coat pocket. Rin furrows her brows at the silver flask Tsunade extracts from her coat before Tsunade slides the steaming coffee cup towards herself and peels back the plastic lid. As Rin exchanges a glance with Kushina, whose red brows shoot straight to her forehead, Tsunade proceeds to pour a generous amount of clear liquid from her flask, into her coffee, bright and early on a weekday morning. She must not be headed to the hospital after all.

“We don’t _hire_ students,” Tsunade says into her cup as she swirls it gently in her hand. Then she replaces the lid and meets Rin’s eyes. “Do you want to work under my supervision?”

Rin forms her mouth into words, but no sound comes out. She wants to _emphatically_ tell Tsunade yes, but before she can say the words, an inconvenient thought in the back of her mind blooms into existence to fill her with doubts. She doesn’t know this doctor; she doesn’t even know which unit she runs in the hospital. What little she _does_ know of her is that she will be strict as a supervisor, and she spikes her morning coffees before heading to the hospital. Because whether she’s operating on patients or not today, Rin knows she wouldn’t bother wearing that lanyard on a day she isn’t working.

“Uh, y-I don’t–” she finally manages, meeting Tsunade’s sharp eyes uneasily.

Tsunade smirks. “Good answer. What’s your name?”

“Rin.” Rin licks her lips and becomes a little bolder. “Rin Nohara.”

“Hm,” Tsunade says before lifting her coffee to her painted lips, her eyes gleaming at Rin over the edge of her plastic lid. “I’ll take a look at your application.”

“Th-thank you,” Rin says, smiling as Tsunade turns away and Kushina visibly vibrates with excitement in her periphery.

After Tsunade slips out the door without another word, Rin deflates, clutching the counter to support herself. She grunts at the unexpected impact of Kushina smacking her back, but the whole-hearted laughter from her friend makes up for the manhandling. _Holy shit,_ Rin realizes. Kushina might’ve just got her the internship.

“Am I your best friend, or what?” Kushina exclaims.

Rin laughs and shifts her eyes to the brilliant smile lighting Kushina’s face. “Don’t tell Obito that. You might be in for a fight.”

Kushina scoffs. “You think Obito could take _me?”_

Rin laughs again as she peels off her sleeves and finally shrugs out of her jacket. This whole venture had her sweating at first, but now she just feels overheated from the rush of it all. She might not have been ready to make a decision right in that moment, but she can feel it in her bones - Tsunade is someone she _wants_ to learn from.

“We should go out and celebrate tonight,” Kushina says as she lounges back against the counter, stretching her feet into the open floor space.

“Celebrate what?” Rin snorts as she tucks Tsunade’s receipt into a place Madara can’t possibly complain about. “I don’t know my grade on that report. Tsunade hasn’t given me the internship yet. And I…”

Rin bites her tongue short of saying something about Kakashi. She hopes Kushina doesn’t catch it. She _cannot_ get into talking about the desperate state of her love life right now. She needs a change of subject - fast.

Rin theatrically cringes toward the back room. “I have a feeling I won’t have this job for much longer.”

“What?” Kushina screeches before jumping to her feet. She follows Rin’s gaze and knits her brows. “What, him? Madara’s full of hot air. Besides, he’s training Obito to take this place over for him, and Obito will absolutely throw a _shit fit_ if Madara fires you. Madara can’t risk losing Obito and he knows it.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Rin concedes.

She agrees with everything Kushina says, of course, but at least now her love life topic has been safely derailed. Rin turns to the door as another customer walks in, but her mind is elsewhere as she works through the practiced motions and routine with this one and the two who file in after. She can’t help eyeing every tall figure in a gray coat who passes outside with the hopes of seeing Kakashi. She wonders where he goes, what it is he does around here, if Kakashi will come here for his next cold brew. 

“I’m texting Obito,” Kushina says, and Rin looks up to find Kushina’s fingers swiping across her cell phone. “We’re meeting at nine. You don’t have any night classes today, right?”

“Uh...no,” Rin says before her phone dings from inside the jacket she’s slung over a nearby chair.

“I just texted you the address,” Kushina says. “Obito’s in. He says he needs to blow off some steam after yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” Rin raises a brow as Kushina looks up from her texting. “What happened yesterday?”

Kushina shrugs. “I’dunno. He’ll tell us _all_ about it, I’m sure.”

Rin furrows her brow as she puzzles over her last interactions with Obito. He seemed perfectly fine then. Maybe he was putting up a front for her benefit. He _was_ being really supportive. Or maybe something happened _after_ Rin left.

“Yes,” Kushina hisses as she pockets her phone. “We are going to dance our asses off and get _trashed.”_

The way she beams at Rin makes it impossible for Rin not to smile back. Rin isn’t too excited about drinking when she has a mid-morning class the next day, but she could use the time to cut loose. Once she starts this internship, her schedule will only become more grueling. And maybe there’s no guarantee with Tsunade, but Rin has a good feeling about it. She can go for a little celebrating. And if Obito has a bad day eating away at him, Rin wants to be there to support him. It’s only right when he’s been _so_ supportive of her. Maybe she’ll be lucky enough to meet someone who takes an interest in her, someone who wants to share a dance, someone to make her forget about her infatuation with a guy she saw walk into her coffee shop _one time_ and might never see again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you didn’t catch it, yes, Madara in this is old Madara who trapped/rescued Obito in a cave


	3. Starting Over

When Rin returns to the coffee shop after a day regretfully spent nursing her post-nightclub hangover in lecture halls and labs, she has her mind on the details she might’ve missed in her classes and the chores she has piling up instead of thinking about what she’s walking into.

She stops short a moment after dropping her purse on the back table when she spots the silhouette blocking the doorway to the front. She’s caught in Obito’s stare. Except, it’s not the same Obito she saw before their disastrous night out who looks back at her now. This Obito has one eye swollen completely shut, bruised a deep purple, and yellowing around the edges. It serves him right after making an ass of himself in public and mortifying Rin in front of everyone there, including the man she least expected to see that night.

Rin crosses her arms and shifts her stance. “I still can’t believe you did that, Obito.”

Nevertheless, it pains Rin, looking at him like this. Rin knows it must hurt. And she’s Obito’s best friend _and_ a nurse in training. She can’t spend the next few hours watching him suffer, even if he did ruin whatever minuscule chance she might’ve had with Kakashi.

With a sigh, she waves him over. “Let me take a look at it.”

“Can’t believe _I_ did that?” Obito says as he scuffs his feet on the way to meet Rin at the back table. “I’m the one who was punched!”

“I know,” Rin says as she sits with Obito and presses her fingers lightly to the swelling of his cheekbone. _“And_ the one who started it.”

“He had it coming,” Obito grumbles before hissing and clenching his eyes shut. “Pretentious asshole.”

“You shouldn’t have hit him.”

“I didn’t–”

_“Tried_ to hit him,” Rin corrects, soothing Obito with the tone of her voice as much as her gentle touch. “He was only defending himself when he hit you back.”

“Rin,” Obito whines.

His puppy-dog eyes don't manage their usual effectiveness with his left eye sealed shut and half his face enlarged from the day-old injury, but Rin is still thankful for having to take her eyes off his pouty face to retrieve supplies from their tiny staff-only bathroom. 

That night had started off so well, too. As Rin shuffles beneath the sink to find the gauze and ointments she needs to make Obito more comfortable, she recalls the way Kushina danced up a storm across the dance floor, her swaying red hair looking so eye-catching beneath the multicolored strobe light. She recalls dancing with a few partners, and Obito gathering the nerve to ask women to dance. She recalls the pleasurable buzz of intoxication, how easy it had been to release her pent-up stress. And then as she cradles the supplies into her arms, Rin recalls spying a spiked silver head of hair across the dance floor, where a certain handsome man in a tailored suit was involved in what looked like a confrontation with an older man. She groans as she rises to her feet and miserably recounts her misstep of announcing Kakashi’s presence to Obito, who had been complaining all night about an asshole customer who’d criticized his every step of fulfilling his coffee order. 

Rin scowls down at Obito as she drops the heap of supplies onto the table in front of him, vividly recalling the way he shot across the club, lashing out at Kakashi with a heated fury Rin couldn’t have anticipated. 

With her anger returning, Rin gestures vaguely to the pile and then crosses her arms. “You’ll need to ice it if you want to get the swelling down. Otherwise, everything you need is here.”

“Rin,” Obito says. It hurts to hear the way his voice tightens. “I didn’t mean-I mean, I was drunk. I was stupid. I-I’m not sorry for telling him off. The prick deserved it.”

“Obito,” Rin hisses.

“But I _am_ sorry,” he says hurriedly, “for upsetting _you._ I know, for whatever insane reason, you like the guy.”

“Maybe you would, too, Obito,” Rin says with a roll of her eyes, “if you’d give him a chance.”

He’s only met Kakashi twice now. There’s no reason their second encounter had to end violently. Rin’s already considered the possibility that _she’s_ the one misjudging Kakashi. She’s only met him twice now as well after all, and her second encounter hardly counts as anything she wants to remember. Rin shivers away a grimace as she remembers Kakashi meeting her eyes after she fell to her knees at Obito’s side on the sticky dance floor. He had such a dangerous look in his eyes, like he was ready to do worse to Obito if he dared get back up and try that again. Except, Rin couldn’t believe it. She didn’t want to think the worst of him. Beneath that anger, she swears she saw something _else._

Obito groans, circling ointment over his bruise across the table from Rin. “Don’t have to worry about that anymore, do I? I’m sure I’ll never have to see Kakashi again.”

Rin’s frown deepens as she turns for the front counter, rubbing away the goosebumps forming on her arms. Obito’s probably right. The chances of running into Kakashi by accident like that again are extremely low. Even _if_ Kakashi chances a visit to Madara’s in the future, Rin doesn’t suspect it’ll be on friendly terms. With a hard swallow, she plants herself behind the register, ready to face just another day.

* * *

By the time their shift is ending, Rin hates this atmosphere they’ve created for the day where Obito feels more coworker than friend. It’s eating her up inside and she wants to talk to him before they leave. She reaches for him just as the door chime alerts them of another customer.

“Shit,” Rin hisses as she shoots a glance at the man walking in, then back at Obito. “I’ve got this one, but don’t go anywhere, all right?”

She takes Obito’s furrowed brow and punctuated nod for acquiescence and works quickly with the customer, who she ends up having to mix a second drink for because her mind is more on what she has to say to Obito than what this man ordered. She doesn’t know how to start things with Obito, but she can’t leave without _talking_ to him. She has a few possible starters lined up, none of them very good. By the time her customer is out the door, Rin wonders whether she even remembered to collect his payment.

“Rin,” Obito says from behind her as the settling weight of his hand falls on her shoulder, “what’s wrong?”

_“Us,_ Obito.” Rin opens the register and inspects its contents as if she’ll notice the difference after collection from this one customer. “I don’t like being like this with you.”

Obito’s fingers squeeze gently around Rin’s shoulder. “Hey, Rin, it’s okay.”

She sighs deeply and closes the register, which bangs as it automatically locks closed. As she turns her back to it to face Obito with one of the speeches she’s been preparing in her head, her phone chimes. Furrowing her brows, Rin looks from the concerned set of Obito’s unswollen eye to her purse behind him.

“Who could that…?” 

As she digs her phone out to see a text notification banner flash across her screen, Rin stops breathing. It looks like she’s holding the message she’s been waiting for in her hands. She has to re-read it just to be sure. But it’s there. It says _right there_ from Tsunade Senju _herself_ that Rin has been accepted into the trauma unit under her supervision.

“Ohmygod,” she whispers as blood rushes through her ears and she thrusts the phone toward Obito. “It’s the doctor. I got in. I got in!”

“Your internship?” Obito cries, opening his arms toward Rin as his face brightens. “Shit, Rin! You’re almost a nurse! I knew you’d get in!”

He sweeps Rin into his arms, and she reciprocates, pressing the phone against his back as she squeezes the life out of him and he crushes her to his chest. It’s like there was never any tension between them. They’re both caught up in the same excitement, for the same reasons, together. There’ll be other guys Rin can swoon over in the future, but there’ll never be another friend like Obito. As Obito laughs loudly in her ear, Rin feels a weight lift from her shoulders. 

She breaks from the hug with a deep breath and meets his gaze. “Thank you, Obito. Now I just have to face Madara to ask him to work my hours around my new schedule. I start at the hospital next week.”

Obito cocks his head. “Want me to talk to him for you?”

“No.” Rin pats his chest. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Please, Rin. Let me make it up to you for having to pick up after my mess the other night. Besides, if _you_ ask, well..you know Madara.”

Rin sighs. “Okay. Yes. Thank you.”

“Now,” Obito says, pressing his hands to his hips. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Nothing.” Rin presses her lips together in a smile as Obito’s good eye lights with surprise. “We’re good, right?”

Obito beams. “Of course we are!”

* * *

Rin feels on top of the world these past few days. 

She’s learning her rounds at Konoha Hospital. She’s getting to know Tsunade and the rest of the staff and interns on their unit, along with their quirks and habits. Her camaraderie with Obito and Kushina is easier than ever following that talk with Obito. Writing stressful reports is a thing of the past now that her curriculum can fully shift to her internship - which isn’t to say her internship isn’t challenging in and of itself. The responsibility of drawing blood and monitoring patients really weighs on her, but there’s also a _rush_ that comes with knowing she’s the one responsible for keeping someone alive and healthy.

So as she stands behind the counter this evening watching her latest customer sit with his coffee and an open laptop at one of their tables, she doesn’t mind the ache in her feet or the conversation she’s overhearing Obito having with Madara on the phone. Madara seems to be trying to change one of her shifts again to conflict with her hospital schedule, but Rin assures herself Obito will handle it.

She wipes a stray crumb from the counter and sighs as she watches the passing foot traffic through the glare of the front glass door. Orange and brown leaves tumble between the shuffle of boots and heels, and so many coats blend together in a sea of tan, black and gray with the occasional flash of a bright color, that she almost doesn’t notice the one which passes for a second time. 

But as she recognizes the distinct silver hair, she gasps. It’s Kakashi. Definitely. He has a book tucked under his arm and his face hidden behind the flap of his raised coat lapel. Even with part of his face hidden, Rin can’t help admiring how handsome he looks.

“What?” Obito says to her, muting Madara’s ramblings as he presses the phone to his chest and stands beside Rin.

“It’s...Kakashi,” Rin says, nodding to the figure swiveling toward their front door.

Obito’s dark eyes widen before he fixes his gaze toward the glass door and presses the phone to his ear. “Madara, I have to go.”

As he pockets the phone, the front door chimes and swings forward. Rin tenses as Obito growls under his breath. Kakashi steps over their threshold, tucking his chin to his chest and kicking away the leaves that try to track in with his loafers.

“Uh...Kakashi!” Rin blurts before Obito can say whatever is making him clench his fists and grit his teeth. “Hi. Can-can we help you?”

“What are _you_ doing here?” Obito snaps.

Kakashi comes to a dead stop several feet short of reaching the counter. He bites his lip and looks at Obito, then Rin through the messy overhang of his windblown silver hair. His eyes narrow when they turn back on Obito again. Rin braces for a fight, her hand already reaching for Obito to hold him back with a warning touch if needed. But then Kakashi steps forward with a growl, combing his hair back before he drops his heavy book onto the counter in front of Rin. It’s a textbook. _The Study of Law,_ Rin reads.

“I said,” Obito says quietly, “what are you do–”

“Cold brew,” Kakashi says curtly, and that deep voice runs through Rin and thrills her as he turns his gaze to her. “Medium, please.”

Rin nods, keeping her eyes on him as she blindly keys the order into the machine. Kakashi’s jaw twitches as his gaze darts back to Obito. He obviously didn’t come in just for coffee.

“Are you _serious?”_ Obito cries, his frustration evident in the pitch of his voice.

Obito starts to turn to the machines. He’ll make the drink, as is their usual practice. One person takes payment while the other fixes the drink. But Kakashi’s disapproving hum draws Obito to stop while he holds an empty cup in his hand.

“Not you,” Kakashi says as he captures Obito’s gaze with a withering glare. “I want _her_ to make it. You’d probably spit in it.”

“I wonder why,” Obito snarks.

Rin can see that look in Obito’s eyes. He’s caught now but he was _definitely_ thinking about it. With a groan, she plucks the empty cup from his hand. He probably deserves to be smacked by it, but Rin would never do that. Somehow, the animosity heating up between these two needs to be taken down a few degrees. As she ducks into the refrigerator below the counter where their freshest pitcher of cold brew waits, she can overhear the conversation that ensues perfectly as she fixes the drink thanks to the fact that this drink is one of the rare few not requiring loud machinery.

“I came,” Kakashi sighs like it’s painful, “to say sorry...about…you know.”

There’s a pause before Obito responds with a disbelieving, “You’re sorry? _You_ wanted to come here and say that?”

Rin rises from the counter just in time to catch Kakashi rolling his eyes. “Who said I wanted to come here?” 

Obito stomps toward the register, slamming in Kakashi’s total with more force than necessary. “Three-fifty. Anything else?”

“Looks like the eye healed,” Kakashi says with a perk of his brow as he sweeps his gaze over Obito’s face and hands over a wad of folded bills. “Of course, I wouldn’t even have to be here if you hadn’t started something you couldn’t finish.”

Obito rips the money from Kakashi’s fingers. “Dammi–” 

“Law,” Rin says, keeping her voice forceful but conversational as she eyes the book on the counter and then raises her gaze to meet Kakashi’s widening eyes. “Are you studying to be a lawyer?”

“Yeah,” Kakashi says, blinking at her before shifting back on his heels and setting his hands into his pocket. “Why? Are _you_ a student?”

“No, not law.” Rin’s cheeks warm as she tucks a falling lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m actually studying to become a nurse.”

Kakashi answers with an appreciative hum as Rin sets the cup of cold brew wetting her palm with condensation on the counter before him. Before he takes the cup, Kakashi turns an expectant gaze on Obito. He holds, looking impatient as he waits. Obito’s jaw drops before he exchanges a twitching glance with Rin.

Obito scoffs at Kakashi. “What are you looking at _me_ for?”

Kakashi sighs and turns back to Rin. “Anyway...Rin, right?”

“Yeah,” Rin breathes, her heart thrumming because _he remembers her name._

Kakashi takes the coffee and tips it toward her with a brief smile that shows a flash of sharp teeth. “Thanks for the coffee.”

He sweeps the book from the counter, tucking it safely beneath his arm again, pressed against the softness of his wool coat. He raises the cold brew to his lips and Rin shamelessly watches them wrap around the white plastic lip of his cup. She would love to have those lips wrapped around something else. She can’t help wondering what they would feel like. She’s sure the sensation would run straight through her, just like his voice and his eyes and-

“Rin.” Obito snaps her from her thoughts and seemingly in the blink of an eye, Kakashi is at the glass door with his back to them. She must’ve spaced out. “That was painful.”

“Oh,” Rin says with a flutter of her eyes as the present seems to become _more present_ and she catches Obito looking at her with concern. “It...was a little weird, wasn’t it? I wonder what made him apologize.”

“A _little_ weird?” Obito scoffs. “That guy is the definition of weird. And he’s studying law? I wouldn’t be surprised if one of these days _he’s_ going to need a lawyer.”

When Obito turns his attention to prepping another batch of cold brew, Rin heads to the front door, closing it behind the man who’d sat quietly with his laptop during that bizarre interaction. He’s gone now, and it’s closing time. Rin locks the glass door and turns the sign, pressing her cheek near the glass to scan her gaze in the direction Kakashi had left. Of course he’s long gone, but he had come back to apologize. 

Rin is sure now that she _will_ see more of him in the coffee shop in the near future.


	4. Wrong Order

“So then,” Kushina says around a mouthful of crumbs, waving her half-eaten croissant in Rin’s face, “he doesn’t answer me.”

Rin’s grin splits her face. Her cheeks _ache._ The giggles that spill from her lips go entirely unheeded. They may as well be swirling leaves in the wake of Kushina’s bullet train of conversation.

“So I say it again. I speak louder this time, ya know. I don’t know,” Kushina shrugs, looking confused. “Maybe he doesn’t hear so well or somethin’. I mean, he’s looking _right_ at me. The only other people in here are quiet and minding their own damn business. I don’t see how he could miss a word I say. So then I _really_ raise my voice–”

Rin’s shoulders are shaking. “Ku-kushina!”

“But he just _stares_ at me! I don’t know, Rin,” Kushina says, raising a brow and pointing the butt of her croissant accusingly. “I think something is just wrong with that guy.”

“Kushina,” Rin manages as her eyes water and she pats her friend’s hand, pleading for a chance to speak. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Minato.”

“Then _how_ do you explain it, huh?”

Rin shrugs and gives Kushina a coy smile before stealing the last bite of croissant from her fingertips. “He’s got a thing for redheads?”

“What?”

“I can’t _believe,”_ Rin says as she pops the flaky pastry into her mouth, letting her eyes roll back as she moans at the smooth flavor melting on her tongue, “you don’t see it. You should ask him out.”

“I don’t know.” Kushina raises a skeptical brow as she crosses her arms. “Ya think he’d _answer_ me?”

Rin tries not to choke or spit crumbs at Kushina. She covers her mouth with the back of her hand as the door chimes and her eye follows the path of their latest customer‘s swift exit. Before the door seals shut, a woman catches the door. Two more customers have arrived. The woman looks up with mischievous eyes and hair pulled back haphazardly in a ponytail streaked purple and brown. The trenchcoat she wears flows with her as she steps aside, pushing the door wide open to reveal her companion. Rin leaps to her feet and then she _does_ choke on dry crumbs when she recognizes Kakashi. 

“Hello!” the woman shouts across the coffee shop before reaching the counter. “Me and my partner here need caffeine! What’s the most sugary drink you’ve got?”

Rin’s mouth goes dry as she looks at Kakashi. His expression is unreadable as his gaze wanders across the stone walls and filled tables around the coffee shop. He _might_ be slightly annoyed, if Rin’s learning to read him right. Rin’s eyes zero in on the woman accompanying him. She is a beauty with petite features and shapely legs concealed only by combat boots and fishnet-printed leggings. As Kushina lists off seasonal drinks to this woman, oblivious of Rin’s trepidation, the customer’s charcoal-rimmed eyes catch Rin in the act of surveying her.

Rin feels heat crawl up her neck and wash over her cheeks before she shoots a glance at Kakashi, whose slouch and heavy-lidded gaze give away _nothing_ about who this woman is to him. She called him her partner, which could mean a multitude of things.

“Okay, I’ll have that,” the woman tells Kushina before glancing over her shoulder. “You want one?”

“No,” Kakashi says, “I’ll have–”

“The cold brew,” Rin says.

She inhales, holding that breath when Kakashi meets her gaze. His eyes bore into her so deeply that Rin worries he can see exactly _why_ she’s memorized his favorite drink as well as every line of his face so well that she knows he’s scrutinizing her. She gulps, hoping he doesn’t notice her hands wringing together behind the counter.

“Right,” Kakashi says to her, before cocking his head and giving her a sly smile. “My usual.”

Rin’s heart hammers against her ribs as she turns to the fridge and reaches for the cold brew. That sexy grin is imprinted in her mind, an image she hopes to take home with her tonight. She shakes off her wayward line of thinking. She can’t make a fool of herself here. He’s probably watching her.

“Rin,” Kushina says from above where she’s crouched in front of the fridge, “aren’t you going to ring them up?”

“O-oh!” Rin cries, shooting to her feet and nearly stumbling in her haste.

Kushina furrows her brows and turns for the register. “Never mind. I’ve got it, ya know.”

Pressing her lips together, Rin turns her back to their customers to assemble their drinks, hoping they don’t notice the way her hands tremble against the plastic lids or how voraciously she chews her cheek. That woman could be Kakashi’s _girlfriend._ Rin can’t openly flirt with him here, no matter how much she wants to. She massages her head before cupping her hands around both drinks. Girlfriend. Why had she never considered the possibility that a gorgeous guy like Kakashi, a _law_ student with a bright future ahead of him, would already have a girlfriend? As Rin closes her eyes and releases a shuddering breath, Kushina hums keenly beside her.

Rin grimaces as she opens her eyes.

“Hey,” Kushina says, nodding her head to the table where Kakashi and this woman are setting down their coffees and pulling files from their bags, “am I crazy, or is _that_ the guy who bashed Obito’s face in at the club the other night?”

“His name is Kakashi,” Rin says before pressing her lips together.

She racks her brain, frantically trying to recall how much Kushina already knows about Kakashi due to that encounter. Rin doesn’t want to spill more than she absolutely has to, but maybe Obito already did at some point when Rin wasn’t on shift. What if _Kushina_ is the one now to leap over the counter and try smacking the hell out of Kakashi based on what she saw that night and whatever Obito’s been saying about him?

“He’s-he’s not that bad,” Rin says quickly, her throat tightening as Kushina eyes her skeptically.

Kushina narrows her blue eyes from Rin to Kakashi, a shift in focus that is not a favorable trade off. Across the coffee shop, the woman with Kakashi swings her hand low past his trenchcoat slung over the back of his chair, smacking Kakashi’s ass hard enough to make it ring over the hum of the machines at Rin’s back. Rin grimaces as Kakashi shoots the woman a tired glare and tells her to knock it off, like this behavior is a regular occurrence for them. _Definitely_ a girlfriend. A bold one, at that.

“Not that bad, huh?” Kushina parrots Rin’s words before barking a laugh. “Honey, I can’t blame you. That boy is...whoo!”

Rin’s jaw drops as she watches Kushina fan herself right in front of Kakashi and his girlfriend. She’s not even _subtle_ about it. To make matters worse, the way Kushina casts Rin that sly as a fox smile makes it clear it is not _Kushina’s_ attraction causing her voyeuristic outburst.

“Kushina,” Rin hisses as she tries to shrink behind the counter, into the machinery at her back, _“please._ He’s...just a regular customer who hasn't exactly seen eye to eye with Obito.”

“You want him to _bang_ you,” Kushina says, and her words are blunt, but thanks to whatever god is watching over Rin this evening, they’re also quiet. “You want him to stick his love meat in so dee–”

“Oh, will you _stop?”_ Rin cries, louder than intended as she slaps her hand over Kushina’s big mouth. “They’re going to hear you! He’s with his girlfriend!”

Rin leads Kushina’s gaze to the table where - thankfully - Kakashi and the other girl are in a conversation too deep to notice what Kushina’s saying. They’re poring over the files spread open on the table between them. Kakashi sips his coffee while the woman chews on her straw, pulling it out from time to time to lick off the whipped cream dripping from its smooth edges.

“Is he?” Kushina says. “Looks to me like this girl could be...I dunno. A something else.”

“She slapped his ass, Kushina.”

Kushina’s hum sounds unimpressed. “She’s also giving him a lot of tongue action with that whipped cream, and I don’t see him getting caught up in her show, if y’know what I’m saying.”

As Kushina wiggles her brows at Rin, Rin scowls toward Kakashi’s table and leans with her elbows propped on the counter. She sinks the weight of her cheeks into the curled knuckles of her fingers while the striking dark eyes beneath an overhang of silver hair captivate her gaze. 

She should look away. Rin knows she should. But she has nothing to lose at this point. If Kakashi is unavailable, at least Rin can look. She can still have her wistful sighs and dreamy fantasies. Kushina might have a point about Kakashi giving no notice to his companion’s long tongue twirling around white droplets of cream in front of his eyes, but it’s not enough to convince Rin that she doesn’t already have the evidence she needs. Even _if_ this woman isn’t Kakashi’s girlfriend, Rin is ninety percent sure he can’t be single.

She casts a sideways glance to Kushina and gasps when she spies bare counters and empty space. “Kushina?”

“So.” Kushina’s voice carries from the other end of the coffee shop. “How are we enjoying our drinks?”

Rin feels the blood drain from her face as she tracks the voice to the front of the coffee shop. To her horror, Kushina has both hands braced on Kakashi’s table, her curious blue eyes wandering over two unamused faces and the spread of documents between them. Kakashi and the woman both frown as Kakashi closes and pushes the files away from Kushina’s view. Rin doesn’t want to know what Kushina will say next. She doesn’t want to give her the chance. With her heart beating frantically, Rin rushes to the front to join them.

“The pumpkin spice is delish, isn’t it?” Kushina says as she gives the woman a smile and a nod. “If ya want, next time I’ll add a little somethin’ extra in there for ya. My own special concoction.”

Rin reaches the table when Kakashi looks up at Kushina with a sigh. “Can’t you see we’re working?”

“I’m so sorry,” Rin says to him, hip-checking Kushina before her opening mouth can inflict damage _beyond_ Rin’s healing abilities. “This–”

“Hey, while you’re here,” the woman says, flicking her straw in Kushina’s direction while looking at Rin with piercing eyes, “can a girl get a little extra whipped cream?”

“Haven’t ya had enough?” Kushina mutters.

“Rin,” Kakashi says, imploring her to _end_ this.

Rin nods. Inside, she’s a vortex of emotion. Outside, she shows nothing of the way her heart flutters at hearing her name from Kakashi’s lips, or the way her stomach clenches under Kakashi’s attentive gaze, or the way her head feels dizzy when she takes in his dewy complexion, the perfect curve of his nose and the visible softness of his lips.

Rin grabs Kushina’s hand. “We’ll leave you and your girlfriend to work.”

“Girlfriend?” The woman stops Rin from rushing off with a snort. “You hear that, Kakashi? She thinks I’m your girlfriend.”

“I heard.”

“Ah-ha!” Kushina beams as she tugs her hand free of Rin’s. “You’re _not_ his girlfriend, are you?”

Kakashi smirk at Kushina. “I’m not exactly Anko’s type.”

Though his _words_ answer Kushina, his eyes feel like they’re answering Rin. As they land on her, calm and calculating, there is a hint of mischief in his smile. It’s not much of a smile, not much different from the straight face he usually wears, but it drills into her just like his eyes do. He’s reading her with a glance. He knows exactly why Kushina came over here, and why Rin stupidly slipped her thoughts about his partner being his girlfriend. Rin can’t breathe. And she’s going to kill Kushina as soon as their shift ends.

Kushina punches Rin’s shoulder. “See, Rin? Told ya!”

Rin drops her head into her open palm before carding her hair back from her face. She wishes to distance herself from this humiliation, but all eyes are firmly trained on her. Anko looks utterly delighted. Kushina looks smug. Kakashi looks the same as ever. He _knows._

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Kakashi knows Rin has a ridiculous and childish crush on him and there’s no way she can deny it.

“To be honest,” Anko says as she leans back, draping her arms over the back of her chair and locking her eyes on Rin, “this guy is an asshole. As a rule, I don’t date anyone who’s a bigger asshole than I am.”

“Anko,” Kakashi says, pressing a hand to his heart, “I’m wounded.”

Anko snickers. “Such a twerp. All right! Are we finishing this thing, or what?”

As she claps her hands together and digs into their files, Rin exchanges a glance with Kushina, whose smug smile only grows wider. Rin overhears Kakashi and Anko talking about a case and trial as she and Kushina return behind the counter. With a glance over her shoulder, she catches Kakashi’s eyes tracking her before she reaches the counter. He turns away so quickly that she almost thinks she imagined it. But whether Kakashi was looking at her or not, she’s relieved to realize Anko really is nothing more to Kakashi than a work partner or fellow student.

And for some reason, in spite of his quickly-spreading asshole reputation around the coffee shop, Kakashi remains kind to Rin. Maybe it’s only wishful thinking on her part, but his appeal to her for peace feels meaningful. She doesn’t think Kakashi bothers remembering too many names or interacting with many people, but he never seems to forget _her._


	5. Experimental Drinks

Rin is wearing finer clothes to the coffee shop these days. It’s always scrubs at the hospital, which she refuses to wear anywhere else. She’s thankful Madara doesn't have them dress in black from head to toe here like many coffee shops require of their baristas. It gives Rin the opportunity to embrace the fall weather, donning things like fitted cashmere sweaters, fancy trench coats, denim mini skirts, leggings, and always boots. But day after day, Rin spends the time on her selections and when Kakashi doesn’t arrive, her efforts feel wasted. 

She’s gathered up the courage to make her move the next time she sees him and the anticipation is killing her. She’s a grown woman. Kakashi already knows she’s interested, after all, so she can think of no reasonable excuse not to take the plunge. If he _does_ have a significant other she’s not already aware of, it would be the easiest rejection she can hope for. What she really hopes for is to not be rejected.

The leather strap of her purse slips from her moistening palms as she drops it at the back table, gathering the courage to follow through on her decision in case today is the day she finally sees Kakashi again.

“Rin!” Kushina calls from the front counter, the sound of Obito gagging breaking through from beneath Kushina’s loud voice. “Come here! Try this!”

Rin circles around the table and arrives at the front of the shop to find Kushina pushing an overflowing drink in her face. The drink is speckled with something dark like chips or caramel bits, swirled with white, a honey-brown color overall. The whipped cream topping looks mountainous and is speckled with crumbs. Behind the drink and Kushina’s radiant grin, Obito grimaces and shakes his head fervently at Rin.

Rin raises a brow as she accepts the cold cup into her hand. “What’s in it?”

Kushina crosses her arms and raises her chin. “Drink it and find out.”

Obito mouths _no, no, no_ at Rin, his eyes desperate. Rin tries not to smile too wide as she eyes the drink and its myriad of contents. She can have just a taste. It can’t hurt. But as she raises the straw to her lips, Obito’s grimace deepens into a teeth-clenching tension she almost can’t bear to watch.

Rin sighs. “You know I’m here to relieve your shift, right, Kushina?”

Kushina props a hip on the counter, planting herself firmly in place. _“Not_ until you tell me how things are going at the hospital. I hardly see you anymore since you been working there, ya know!”

“The hospital’s great.” Rin smiles as she remembers her fellow intern sharing a very explicit story at the nurse’s station, which has nothing to do with the question Kushina is asking her. “Tsunade can be scary,” she says, getting herself back on track. “But I’m really learning my way around the unit. I think...I have a knack for this job.”

“Are you kidding,” Obito says, coming forward to throw an arm over Rin’s shoulder, “of course you do.”

“That’s great, Sweetie,” Kushina says as she pushes off the counter and heads to the back room. “All right, all right. I’ll go!”

As soon as her back is turned, Obito pries the cup from Rin’s hand and deposits it on the counter.

“Tell me what you think of the drink, though,” Kushina calls as they hear the back door open. “And Obito! Don’t you dare dump it! See ya!”

“Bye, Kushina.” Rin casts Obito a sideways glare only to find an obstinate pout.

“What?” Obito huffs. “I _saved_ you, Rin. You would have a sugar high for _months_ after tasting that monstrosity. Imagine the crash! You can’t handle that on a hospital schedule.”

Rin laughs as Obito slings an arm over her shoulder. “My hero.”

It feels good to be like this with him. There’s a comfort and solidarity she has with Obito that she’s never felt with anyone else. It’s like they just _fit_ together. It’s easy.

The door chimes and Rin shrugs out of Obito’s embrace, hurrying to put on her apron, tying it as she faces the back wall. It’s a shame considering all the thought she puts into her clothing that it _does_ still have to be covered by plain black cotton. She can’t complain, though. The spills and splashes that happen here from time to time are the last thing she wants on her nice clothing.

“Hey, Minato,” Obito says, “you just missed Kushina. I can take your order first. _This_ guy can wait.”

Rin turns around to see Minato grinning at Obito and throwing his arm over Kakashi’s shoulder. Kakashi’s grimace almost confirms Rin’s prior notion that these two don’t know each other. Maybe Minato is being over-friendly with a fellow patron who happened to walk in at the same time. Kushina might’ve been onto something when she claimed something was off about Minato. Obito exchanges a glance with Rin, clearly having similar thoughts.

“Uh…” Obito says.

“Minato, Sir,” Kakashi says, cool and measured, “do you mind?”

As Minato withdraws his arm with a jovial grin, Obito points between the two of them. “You two know each other?”

Minato blinks back a look of surprise. “I told you about our brilliant intern, didn’t I?”

“Oh.” Obito peers at Kakashi. “That was _him?”_

Kakashi meets him with a withering glare. “Don’t act so surprised.”

“No,” Minato laughs as he reaches into his pocket and digs out a wallet. “It shouldn’t be surprising. Kakashi’s father was Jiraiya’s partner, after all. Sakumo Hatake was of the most brilliant lawyers this city’s ever seen.”

“Jiraiya’s…” Rin’s jaw drops as she looks from Minato to Kakashi. “You mean _the_ Jiraiya?”

Minato glances at Kakashi. “We can’t tell Jiraiya about this place. You don’t want him _near_ this girl.”

“H-hold on,” Obito says as Kakashi frowns back at Minato, “you two work with Jiraiya? You know him personally? His face is on half the billboards in this city!”

“Yeah,” Kakashi says with a shrug, his eyes clouding with disinterest, “so?”

“So that’s so cool!” Obito says.

Rin laughs and touches his shoulder. Obito’s enthusiasm is contagious. Rin doesn’t understand exactly _why_ Minato and Kakashi want to keep Jiraiya from meeting her, but he is a bigshot in this town. It seems these two are simply jaded by regular proximity to the famous lawyer. Of course, if Kakashi’s father was Jiraiya’s _partner,_ someone Minato claims to be _the_ most brilliant lawyer he’s ever worked with, then Kakashi has probably been jaded and destined for a law career his whole life. If Rin didn’t have enough frazzled nerves about hitting on Kakashi to begin with, now her nerves are on fire. She’s never been so intimidated in her life.

But as she looks at Kakashi, she’s never _wanted_ anything so much in her life.

“May I have an espresso, please?” Minato says as he peels back his wallet. “What are you drinking, Kakashi?” 

“Cold brew.”

“Would you like something to eat with that?” Minato glances at him. “You haven’t been keeping a regular diet with the hours you’re putting in, have you?”

Kakashi glares at him, but Rin can’t help noticing the way his cheeks brighten. “I’m _fine.”_

Oh, he _is_ fine. With that color on his face, Rin can picture him moving in to kiss her, accepting her invitation to call, confessing that he likes her, too. This is all in her head of course, but somehow, it’s enough to rekindle the motivation she came here with this morning.

“All right,” Minato says as he blesses Obito with his sunny smile, “one espresso and one cold brew, please.”

“Medium,” Kakashi adds.

“Coming right up,” Obito drawls, his eyes fixed on Kakashi as he punches in the order.

Rin startles, realizing she is supposed to be _doing something_ here beyond staring at Minato and Kakashi and dreaming away her fantasies about the latter. She has a plan, and she’s going to see it through. She sets to work at the machines, first fixing Minato’s espresso. She misses the small talk that ensues behind her back over the groaning and steaming from the machine, but that’s okay because she’s busy scrawling a note. By the time she’s poured Kakashi’s cold brew, she finds Minato’s wallet peeled back on the counter, where Obito leans over an open flap of photos. Rin smiles fondly as she steps forward and hands Kakashi his cold brew. Minato really is old school. She doesn’t know _anyone_ who carries photos in their wallet anymore. Except Kushina. Rin sighs at the thought of how good those two can be together. She wants to see it happen _almost_ as much as she wants Kakashi to say yes after he finds the phone number on the paper she’s slipping between his warm, calloused fingers.

“That’s you and Jiraiya!” Obito says to Minato, his dark eyes alight with awe as his fingers jab at a photo. “You really _do_ know him!”

Minato nods and hums as he flips to the next laminated photo. “And this is Jiraiya with Kakashi’s father. Sakumo was a great man.”

Obito hums, not quite smiling when he looks up to meet Kakashi’s eyes. “He looks a lot like you.”

Kakashi shrugs and plants one hand in his pocket, the other holding his cold brew _without_ Rin’s note in sight. “Looked,” he corrects.

Obito presses his lips together. “Sorry.”

Rin’s chest clenches as she reaches out to Kakashi, touching the warm fingers wrapped around his cold cup. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Kakashi.”

His lips press together, but that’s the only reaction Rin gets before Minato goes on. “Oh! And look.”

Kakashi’s lips lift at the edges, the dark circles around his eyes seemingly brightening as he follows Minato’s gaze. Minato is peeling this next picture from his wallet, handing it to Kakashi.

“I believe this one’s yours,” he says.

Kakashi has a full smile when he sets his coffee on the counter and takes the picture. “Pakkun. Why do you have this?”

“Who’s Pakkun?” Obito says.

Kakashi flips the photo around so Rin and Obito can see it. It’s a puppy. Adorable, with bulging eyes and a wrinkled face and stubby snout. Not the prettiest dog Rin’s ever seen, but she can’t deny it is adorable. She wouldn’t have pegged Kakashi for a dog person. He seems so serious and work-oriented. But the way Kakashi’s entire demeanor shifts when he looks at the photo makes it clear that he has a true love for his pet.

“Aww,” Rin says, looking up into the ray of sunlight that is Kakashi’s rare light-hearted smile, “he’s adorable.”

“Ugly,” Obito mutters before Rin pinches him beneath his ribs.

“I think,” Minato says slowly as he closes his wallet, “I took that the day you adopted him and brought him into the office. Ah, yes. I meant to give it to you. I figured you could use some pictures on your desk.”

“Ah,” Kakashi says as he pockets the photo, “thank you.”

He starts to turn, and Rin gasps. She can’t let their interaction be over already. She’s hardly flirted. She doesn’t know what Kakashi did with her number, whether he even looked at it. 

“Um, Kakashi!”

Kakashi blinks at her with a questioning hum. Rin feels like she’s standing on a stage with her lines forgotten. Kakashi is her entire audience and she is going to _flop_ before gaining the most critical review of her short dating career.

Rin licks her dry lips and forces herself to come up with something. “You look...really good today.”

Fire. Her face is on fire. She could melt into a puddle of embarrassment right here on the coffee house floor. She could’ve _at least_ been a little more eloquent. She should have said something clever. Something sexy. Kakashi looks good _every day_ she sees him. Stating the obvious is _not_ successful flirting.

Kakashi raises a pale brow at her, probably feeling sorry for her. He doesn’t smile, but instead knits his brows like he’s trying to make sense of Rin. She can’t blame him. _Rin_ is trying to make sense of Rin. Eventually, Kakashi tips his coffee at her.

“Thanks,” he says casually. “You too, I guess.”

“Thank you for the coffee,” Minato says before sipping at his steaming espresso, “but we need to be going now.”

_Please_ leave.

Rin is feeling an intense need to go into the bathroom and talk herself down in the mirror following that shameful performance. Whether Kakashi has her number or not, she doesn’t expect a call now. He’s placated her with an insincere compliment, which Rin finds more devastating than outright rejection. He can’t possibly be interested in a girl who has nothing to offer but blatant stares and bland compliments. Rin might be _dressing_ nicer, and advancing her own career, but she feels like she’s miles behind Kakashi’s effortless attractiveness and confidence.

“Uh…” Minato says as he spins on his heels, raising a finger in the air, “could you tell Kushina I said hi the next time you see her?”

“Of course!” Obito shoots him a thumbs-up.

Rin nods numbly, shying away from Kakashi’s gaze. He doesn’t look her way, and for that, she’s relieved. She supposes _that’s_ over now. Kakashi is a patron, potentially a friend, but there’s no way he’ll ever see Rin romantically.

“Hey, Rin,” Obito says as the door sweeps closed behind Kakashi and Minato. “Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh,” Rin says, shooting him a smile and tucking away the hair that cascades in front of her face. “I’m-yes. I’m okay.”

Obito raises a brow and crosses his arms. “No, you’re not. What just happened? Don’t tell me it’s _Kakashi.”_

Rin gives him a guilty smile. She can’t hide her feelings from him, and honestly, she doesn’t want to. She’s never felt so insecure about anything in her whole life as she does about what just happened here. There’s no one better to turn to than the friend who _represents_ security to her.

“Rin,” Obito scolds. “I don’t know what you see in him. He’s the only person I know who manages to piss me off every time I see him.”

“Exactly,” Rin says, smiling as Obito frowns. “There’s just something about Kakashi that you can’t help...reacting to. I know you feel it, too. I’m drawn to him.”

Obito narrows his eyes and tightens the fold of his arms across his broad chest. “Yeah? Well I’m _repelled_ by him. Are you sure that’s not what you’re feeling?”

“I slipped him my number, Obito,” Rin whispers, avoiding his gaze.

Obito obviously cannot disagree more with her about Kakashi, so she’s worried about how he’ll react to this. He already seems to think she’s crazy for just being interested. When he doesn’t say anything, Rin fears the worst, just like she’s fearing the worst about Kakashi’s impression of her.

“Do you know,” she says carefully, looking into the cupped palms of her hands, “if he saw it, or…?”

_“That’s_ what he slipped in his pocket?” When Rin looks up, Obito is watching her with eyes lacking the judgement she expected to find. “I don’t know if he read it, Rin.”

“Thank you, Obito.”

Rin breathes a sigh of relief. Kakashi took her number at least. Maybe he wanted to save it for later or assumed it would say something else. Maybe he was too distracted by Minato bringing up his father paired with Rin and Obito’s condolences to even acknowledge Rin’s note. Maybe he’ll call...or maybe she’ll never hear a word about it from him. 

_That_ would be the worst. Rin doesn’t know whether she’ll find rejection to blame...or a simple failure of communication. Maybe giving Kakashi her number like that wasn’t the brightest idea. Rin groans and places her head in her hands, but at least Obito is here to rub her back and assure her she doesn’t need that loser.

He’s right.

But he’s _wrong._


	6. To Go

The coffee shop is quiet this afternoon. 

Fortunately, Rin’s notifications are not. Because sitting here alone with Obito, being forced to make conversation, will only get her in trouble. The problem at the forefront of her mind isn’t her recent misdiagnosis Tsunade’s just informed her of over _their_ texts, or the blossoming love life of her fellow intern being gushed about over _that_ string of texts, or even the rude old lady who’d been in here an hour ago and only tipped Obito. It’s the fact that Kakashi still hasn’t called her, which she’s currently venting about to another fellow intern over a third string of texts. Obito won’t want to hear about this. He’s heard enough from Rin on this matter and she is not going to burden him with her pathetic attempt at a love life.

Which is why it’s good they’re not speaking right now. Rin doesn’t know _how_ to start a discussion with him about anything else while she’s taking Kakashi’s silence like a stab through the heart. Rin doesn’t want Obito to see how she’s suffering over this. She wants Obito and Kakashi to be friends at some point, not enemies. But Kakashi’s neglect to call might be something Obito perceives as unforgivable. As Rin’s phone dings with another text from Shizune (her current sounding board), Obito groans beside her. 

  
“Oh man,” he says, “if I get another text from Madara, tell me to ignore it. Old people send _every_ word in all caps. It’s exhausting.”

Rin only half-hears him as she reads Shizune’s message suggesting Kakashi might be one of those guys who plays the game of waiting a predetermined time before calling. _That_ doesn’t bode well. Part of the reason Rin is attracted to Kakashi is the sense she gets about him that he doesn’t play games. He’s straightforward, if blunt, but Rin knows there’s a kind motive beneath his abrupt manner that makes her always want to hear what he’ll say next.

“Rin!” Obito says.

Rin shoots him a glance, surprised by his voice and his gaze directed at her hand. Her phone is angled low. She’s too late to tilt it up and away from Obito’s view. He’s read it. He knows she’s lamenting Kakashi’s failure to call.

“Obito,” Rin hisses as she presses the phone to her chest, as if it makes any difference now, “you shouldn’t be reading my texts.”

“You’re waiting on that asshole.” Obito shakes his head. “Hey, you know you’re too good for him, right?”

Rin sighs. “Obito.”

He doesn’t understand what he’s saying. Somehow his animosity with Kakashi has led him to believe Kakashi isn’t special in spite of the fact that Obito sees the same evidence Rin does every time Kakashi shows up. It’s only when he’s _not_ showing up that he can disappoint.

“You’re too good for a _lot_ of people,” Obito says with a blush as he rubs at the back of his head. “But, hey! If you want, I could take you out. We’ll have dinner.”

“Obito.” Rin closes her eyes and tucks her phone away. “You don’t have to do me any favors.”

She feels pathetic. Receiving the offer of a pity date from her best friend puts the unfiltered grounds in her coffee. Her phone’s muffled ding sounds against her chest and reflexively, she clenches her fingers around the hard case in her jacket pocket. Every time she hears it without already knowing who it is, she thinks it might be _him._ Her adrenaline spike is only temporary, given the amount of conversation she’s involved in. Rin withdraws her phone to find her friend’s latest text brandishing a fire emoji and stating she is getting laid tonight.

Great.

Like _that’s_ a reminder Rin needs.

“Wh-what are you talking about, Rin?” Obito raises his hand, grips her shoulder, and gives a warm squeeze that feels oh-so-good. “It wouldn’t be a favor. I’d be happy to–”

The electronic chime Rin hears this time is that of the front door. When Rin looks up and spies familiar spiky blonde hair, trenchcoat, and briefcase, she shoots to her feet and puts her phone aside.

“Minato!” She beams. “Welcome back!”

She glances past him, hoping to find him with company. Maybe his silver-haired intern is dragging behind him today. But when Minato reaches the counter, the front door behind him only swings closed. The foot traffic beyond it continues passing, a stream of busy people flowing at its own pace.

“Starting any new trials lately?” Obito asks as he approaches the register. He lacks his usual energy in posture and voice.

Rin feels terrible for once again burdening him with her problems.

“Soon,” Minato says as his eyes skirt past Obito and Rin, sharp and then disappointed. “I suppose my timing needs work. No Kushina today?”

Rin smiles. “You’re a little early. She’ll be relieving my shift soon, though. I don’t know if you can stick around?”

Minato frowns down into the pocket of his trenchcoat before withdrawing a weathered wallet. “I'm afraid I have to take my drink to go. May I have the espresso, please?”

Obito takes the cash Minato hands him. “Why’re you hoping to see Kushina anyway?”

Rin growls at Obito as Minato’s face turns red. She’s tempted to kick him, but she feels like she’s been kicking Obito enough lately. With a hum, Rin crosses her arms and reminds herself of the opportunity she’s found here.

“Kushina’s amazing, isn’t she?” Rin says to Minato.

Minato smiles at her, his blue eyes shimmering. “She is.”

“She’s scary,” Obito says, raising a suspicious brow at Rin as he keys the order into the register.

Minato laughs. “She is that, too.”

Rin rolls her eyes. “Maybe a little. But mostly amazing.”

“I think so, too. Thank you, Rin.” Minato cocks his head at her, his eyes narrowing. “You _are_ perceptive. Very sweet, too.”

Rin frowns. The way Minato calls her perceptive almost sounds like it’s not his words, but someone else’s. The line about being sweet sounds more straight from Minato’s mouth, but Rin has no way of knowing the true source of his flattering compliments.

“Uh…” Rin clears away the tightness in her throat. “Thank you.”

“Have you seen Kakashi around here recently?” Minato says as Rin’s turn to the machines is aborted by Obito’s raised hand and nod, a signal telling her to carry on her conversation with Minato.

“N-no,” Rin says, blinking at Minato. “Why?”

She tries not to sound curious, but she’s dying to know why Minato should mention Kakashi now. She wants to know what he knows, because Minato sees him every day. He’s the closest connection to Kakashi Rin has.

“He’s...different lately,” Minato says, scratching his head with a chuckle. “Less surly, I guess. I was curious if he’s seeing someone.”

He pierces Rin with those vivid eyes, pinwheels of blue so intense that everything surrounding Minato’s gaze fades to nothingness. Rin inhales deeply, wishing to know what he’s looking for. Whatever he expects to find in her answer, she doesn’t have it.

“Not...that I know of,” she drawls, climbing from the abyss he’s sucked her into. “But I’m happy for his sake if he’s lightening up.”

“Yes,” Minato says fondly as Obito hands him his steaming carry-out cup. “I worry about him. He has a good head on his shoulders, but he’s very serious.” He sips his espresso carefully, eyeing Rin over the plastic rim. “It would be good for him to have a reason to take his mind off of these clients and their cases.”

Rin nods. She thinks she knows what Minato’s saying, but it’s hard to believe. Minato seems to be under the impression that _Rin_ can be that reason for Kakashi. But Kakashi hasn’t said anything - at least not to her. Rin wonders what Kakashi could’ve said to Minato to raise his curiosity about her. Even with Minato asking Rin if Kakashi is seeing anyone, that presumption can’t possibly have anything to do with her. 

“I think if he wants to be a jerk to the people around him,” Obito says with his lips twisting in a grimace, “Kakashi deserves to stew in the bed he’s made for himself. But that’s just my opinion.”

“That might be true to an extent, too, Obito,” Minato says with a sigh. “Please help him by setting the example of being a better friend.”

Obito balks. “Friend? But I-I’m not–”

Minato has a way of glaring without narrowing his eyes or losing the neverending upturn of his lips. Obito reacts to that look, grimacing and ceasing his argument on the spot. With a deep breath dispelled with a roll of his eyes, Obito acquiesces to Minato’s request. Rin smiles. Something good has come about from the day. With the exception of no response from Kakashi and Rin’s confusion surrounding Minato’s visit, Obito is finally going to try to be more friendly with Kakashi.

“Good,” Minato says with his smile brightening. “I’ll see you two later, then.”

Just before he turns to leave, Rin hears the back door. She opens her mouth to call to Minato to stop, but Kushina is already barreling past her, loudly announcing her arrival.

“Hey, guys!” Kushina blasts. “How’s it goin’? Oh! Minato!”

When Kushina passes through the opening to the front with her oversized bag swinging from her shoulder, Rin catches her eye. Kushina only glances back at Rin for a second, but in that second, Rin doesn’t need to urge her to make her move. She can see Kushina’s already determined to do so.

“Kushina!” Minato stops abruptly at the door, hissing as brown liquid seeps over the rim of his cup and burns his fingers.

“Hey!” Kushina bounces in front of him, cocking her head. “What are _you_ doing here?”

“Uh,” Minato says as he gestures vaguely to his coffee and sweeps his leather shoe from the path of its drip. “Well…”

Kushina shoots Rin a look that begs her to understand what she’s been dealing with these past weeks, but Rin holds firm, narrowing her eyes with determination. If there’s anyone who can power through a one-sided conversation, it’s Kushina.

“All right, I don’t care,” Kushina says, waving her hand animatedly in the air. “Anyway. You wanna go out sometime?”

Minato’s jaw drops. Rin cringes as she witnesses his fingers loosening around his coffee cup. But he regains control of himself, firming his grip as he meets Kushiha’s gaze.

“W-with you?” he says.

Kushina growls. The look in her eyes shows hurt ebbing beneath her anger. Rin grits her teeth. She can’t bear to watch this go sideways. These two are perfect for each other and if her own attempt at asking someone out is failing, she has to at least see _this_ work out.

With a sharp hum, Kushina raises her nose in the air. “Well, if you don’t want to go out with me–”

“I do!” Minato says, latching onto Kushina’s shoulder before pulling his hand back like he’s been burned. “I will.”

Kushina blinks. “Yeah?”

Minato gives her a curt nod, his cheeks brightening and his smile widening as he cradles both hands around his cup. “Most definitely. I’ll look forward to it, Kushina.”

Kushina’s expression immediately softens in response to the reverence with which Minato says her name. Her lips turn up in a smile, her chest heaving, before she digs inside her bag.

“Well, here! Let me give ya my number!”

Rin beams as she watches Kushina press pen and paper to Minato’s chest while he stands there firmly as her solid writing board. When Rin casts a sideways glance to meet Obito’s eyes, she is tickled by the shock she sees written in his gaping jaw and brows raised to his hairline.

“I’m happy for them,” she tells him softly.

And she is.

Maybe one day, she’ll know what it’s like to be in their shoes.


	7. Coffee for Two

Kushina’s rapid-fire conversation is a welcome distraction tonight. Rin’s leaning over the counter, watching old friends catching up and a group of men discussing the latest game over coffee in the shop while Kushina expounds upon last night’s date with Minato.

“He was so sweet, ya know,” Kushina says. “Opening doors for me, letting me order whatever I wanted...”

“Whatever you wanted?” Rin raises a brow over her shoulder. She knows Kushina has a pretty big appetite, and her bold attitude doesn’t let her hold back from what she wants.

Kushina sends her a smirk that confirms her suspicion. “Hell yeah. One hell of a gentleman. And ooh,” she licks her red lips and Rin blushes, almost feeling she should turn away, “he is _so handsome._ Why didn’t I notice it before, Rin?”

Rin smiles. “I guess he’s _talking_ to you now?”

“Yeah!” Kushina crosses her arms. “You think that’s the reason?”

“Probably,” Rin says easily, though she knows the answer is _definitely._ Kushina seems to see straight through anyone who doesn’t talk to her. “So tomorrow, can you cover my–”

Rin ceases asking Kushina for the shift change she needs when she notices two men walking into the coffee shop. The door chime is only an echo of her awareness of them because one of them is Kakashi. The other is a handsome brunette who walks in with his hands perched on his hips.

“Oh,” Kushina drawls, prodding Rin with an elbow. _“Kakashi_ is here. You dropped him your number, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Rin says as she seizes Kushina by the arm before she can bound toward them. “And he never answered me. Please don’t say anything about it.”

Rin’s sure Kushina _will._ Asking her not to is like asking the sun not to rise. So when she grimaces at her friend, she’s surprised to see Kushina’s brows furrow. Kushina doesn’t immediately push forward. Instead, she gives Rin’s hand a squeeze before stepping forward.

“What can I get you two tonight? Kakashi.” She winks. “Will ya say hi to Minato for me?”

“Say it yourself,” Kakashi says as he raises his gaze to the overhead menu. 

Not that he needs to read it. He already knows exactly what he’ll order as well as Rin does. It’s like he’s avoiding interacting with her. Rin purses her lips and looks to his friend, who meets her gaze with big brown eyes seeming to convey an apology.

“You talk to him enough already,” Kakashi continues wistfully, “don’t you?”

“Yeah.” Kushina plants her hand on her hip and nudges her head in Rin’s direction. _“I_ talk to _him.”_

Rin has to give Kushina credit for her rare bout of subtlety. Kakashi’s gaze edges Rin’s way, but doesn’t quite land. 

Instead of responding to Kushina’s suggestive statement, he turns to his companion. “You order first.”

“Uh, yes,” the man says. “I’ll have the green tea, please.”

“Green tea,” Kushina echoes. “Anything else?”

“That’s it for me,” he says, looking to Kakashi. “I think Kakashi likes the cold brew, if I remember correctly.”

Kakashi huffs. “So you do remember. Well, I suppose that works. Get us a table, will you, Tenzo?”

“Of course, Kakashi,” Tenzo says.

As Kushina asks Kakashi for their drink sizes and gives him his total, Rin pries her eyes from Kakashi’s handsome face just long enough to notice his companion’s gaze sweeping over his backside. Rin furrows her brows while Tenzo reaches for an empty chair. 

“You and your partner there do anything fun tonight?” Kushina asks Kakashi as she hands him his change.

“Fun?” Kakashi says with an edge of sarcasm to his voice. “What’s that?”

It’s infuriating how he never answers a direct question. He doesn’t address his relationship to this other man. He doesn’t give away anything about what he’s done earlier in the day. He doesn’t give Rin even an inkling of where _they_ stand. Rin rolls her eyes as she turns her body toward the machines. Once again, these drinks are quiet pours, something over which she can easily eavesdrop on her customers’ conversation.

Kushina laughs bitingly. “You _know_ what fun is, Kakashi. Stop fuckin’ with me.”

There’s a long pause in which Rin pours two drinks, one steaming and one icy, and then carries them from the machines, her teeth clenching.

“Fine,” Kakashi says. “I’ll stop fucking with you.”

It would be nice if he’d stop fucking with _Rin._

Rin slams the two completed drinks onto the counter. “Do you need anything else?”

“No,” Kakashi says as he pulls the drinks toward him and meets Rin’s gaze steadily. “I don’t.”

“Are you sure?”

“Uh-huh,” Kakashi says, holding her gaze until he turns. “Thanks.”

Rin’s frown deepens as she turns to Kushina. Kakashi is either intentionally avoiding her, he really never saw the note, or he’s completely oblivious to what it means for her to give him her digits. He’s way too smart to be oblivious.

“Strange,” Kushina drawls, pinching her manicured fingers around her chin. “Are you sure you gave him your number? And he never called you?”

“Completely sure,” Rin grumbles before narrowing her eyes at Kushina. “Do you think it’s possible he didn’t see it?”

“Anything’s possible.” Kushina shrugs. “Maybe you should give up on that one. His friend there might be a better shot. _He’s_ pretty hot, too.”

Kushina isn’t wrong. The man sipping tea with Kakashi wears a black turtleneck which proves he works out as it pulls in all the right places. His eyes are framed by thick lashes. But his eyes are also notably drawn to Kakashi. Of course - because he’s talking to him. It’s not like there’s somewhere else his eyes should be focused.

“Hmmm,” Kushina says, and Rin turns her eyes to see Kushina’s brows furrowed and her finger pressed to her chin. “Do you think Kakashi’s gay?”

“What?”

“That would explain why he hasn’t called,” Kushina says, her face splitting in a grin. “I mean, _look_ at those two. I’ll bet you a hundred bucks they’ve fucked. Or at least _thought_ about it.”

“Kushina!” Rin feels herself internally screaming. “You can’t say things like that here.”

Aside from the fact that anyone overhearing this conversation could have Kushina and Rin fired (which Madara would love), Rin doesn’t want Kakashi and Tenzo to overhear. A selfish little part of her deep inside doesn’t want to entertain that possibility, either. If Kakashi doesn’t like women, she really is wasting her time here. She’s also made a fool of herself. In that case, Kakashi is doing her a favor by ignoring her advances. Somehow, rejection based on Kakashi’s icy disinterest in her has moved a step up on Rin’s scale of horrible possibilities.

Rin follows Kushina’s gaze to the little round table to see Kakashi handing his phone across the table. Tenzo takes it, taking a little longer than necessary to sweep his fingers over Kakashi’s knuckles. Rin had fear of competition before, but until now hadn’t realized how large and deep that pool might be.

“Do you really think...he might be?” Rin asks reluctantly.

“Honey,” Kushina says, “there are many things Kakashi _might_ be. That boy is a box of mysteries. Not even Minato seems to know too much about his personal life and _they_ work together every day. Maybe you should just ask him.”

“Ask him if he’s gay?” Rin blanches. “Kushina, _no.”_

“Tough luck then.” Kushina folds her arms across her chest and shrugs. “That’s all I’ve got. Don’t expect _me_ to ever figure that boy out. A guy like Obito, I understand. Maybe even this Tenzo guy. He seems practical enough, ya know. But Kakashi?” She blows a raspberry that blatantly dismisses the thought.

Rin purses her lips. “Well, I’ve given him an opening. This is his chance to make a move and...he’s not doing anything.”

Kushina presses her hand between Rin’s shoulder blades, the contact warm and solid. “I’m sorry, Sweetie.”

Rin swallows down the lump in her throat. “I guess I need to move on, huh?”

“Now I feel _awful,_ ya know!” Kushina says as she flops against the counter and turns a sympathetic set of blue eyes on Rin. “Here I am, gushing about a first date, carrying on and on like a–”

“No, Kushina, you have nothing to feel sorry about.” Rin smiles through her strain. “As a matter of fact, I could use the distraction right now. Did he kiss you?”

Kushina raises her brows before knitting them together and giving Rin a deep, pouty frown. “No!”

Rin frowns. “Really? I thought–”

“I mean, almost.” Kushina scratches her head. “I think he tried, ya know. Only at that time, I didn’t realize that’s what he was doin’. I thought he was leaning over to take a closer look at my food or somethin’.”

Rin grins at the sight of Kushina’s cheeks coloring. She might feel disappointed about Kakashi, but Rin can still _swoon_ over how cute Kushina is about dating Minato. 

“And what did you do?” Rin presses.

“I mighta…” Kushina says with a shrug and dismissive wave, “smacked him a little.”

“Smacked him?” Rin cries.

“A little.”

Rin laughs. “Kushina. I’m sorry.”

Kushina raises a brow. “Why?”

“Well, uh…”

Rin grits her teeth as she struggles to find the easiest way to say this. She shouldn’t be laughing, not when Kushina’s admitting to her how she just ruined her first date and any future chances with a guy who had amazing potential.

“I know you really liked Minato,” she says carefully.

“Still do.” Kushina winks. “He’s picking me up from here tomorrow night.”

Rin blinks. “Oh.”

Kushina laughs. “He’s not getting off that easy. As a matter of fact, he might be a little _more_ interested in me now.”

Rin smiles. “He likes a girl who plays hard to get?”

“Something like that,” Kushina says with a devilish grin.

Rin sighs. It’s too bad she’s hooked on a _guy_ who plays hard to get and games are not her thing. She really didn’t think Kakashi was the type, but it feels like this is what he’s doing to her. It makes butterflies dance in Rin’s stomach just to think of him. Before, those butterflies were pleasant little tingles. Now, they make Rin’s stomach drop with the gut-wrenching realization that Kakashi isn’t interested in her. He never gave her an answer, but for all the signals he’s given, he may as well have said it.

The front door chimes and Rin looks up to find Obito making one of his rare entries through the front of the coffee shop. He’s here to relieve her shift, thankfully. Rin doesn’t think she can stand to stay in the same place as Kakashi much longer with the way she feels. Now she’ll be able to take her dismal mood with her to the hospital. She’ll have to be careful or Tsunade will _ream_ her if it affects her work.

“Hey, Kakashi!” Obito says with a wave as he passes Kakashi and Tenzo’s table.

“Obito,” Kakashi responds.

It’s subtle, but there is a companionable tone between them that makes Rin feel she’s stepped into another dimension. She furrows her brows at Obito as he approaches, bag slung over his shoulder and pleasant smile on his face.

Rin raises a brow. “Are you two friends now?” she whispers.

“I mean,” Obito says as he rubs the back of his head, “I guess? Sort of?”

Rin exchanges a confused glance with Kushina before telepathing her utter disbelief to Obito with her eyes.

Obito drops his bag beneath the counter and shrugs. “I looked up his dad. Did you know Sakumo Hatake was disbarred after turning away really seedy clients seeking his representation? These guys were later convicted of some _gruesome_ crimes. Sakumo Hatake only took cases from clients whose crimes didn’t conflict with his morals. He wasn’t just amazing intellectually, guys. He was a _morally_ good guy. And the system screwed him for it.”

Rin feels her mouth gaping as she takes this all in. She knows Kakashi is private about these things and Minato would never tell them that which was Kakashi’s story to tell, but she didn’t realize the tragedy surrounding Kakashi’s father was about more than his death.

“So,” Obito says with a sigh, casting a quick glance over his shoulder at Kakashi, “the other day when I saw Kakashi here, I told him he should be proud. He’s been...less of an asshole ever since. I mean, he actually greeted me, right?”

Rin sighs away the mixed feelings she’s having. If Kakashi had responded to her, maybe even asked her out, this would be exactly what she wants to hear. She’s been rooting for Obito and Kakashi to get along. But suffering the irony of being the only one on the receiving end of Kakashi’s cold shoulder after being the first to reach out and warm up to him puts an ache in her chest.

“That’s great,” Kushina says, relieving Rin of having to come up with a response. “Now I can get through this double shift without suffering through the bullshit you two’ve been carrying around for so long. Rin,” she adds as she turns a raised brow in Rin’s direction, “we’ve got the shop covered. You should get to the hospital, ya know.”

Rin smiles her appreciation. “Thanks, Kushina. See you tomorrow, Obito?”

Obito nods. “Bye, Rin.”

Rin doesn’t cast a single glance toward the front of the coffee shop before she leaves. She just grabs her purse, sets her mind on her rounds at the hospital, and refuses to look back at Kakashi again.


	8. Hold the Cream and Sugar

Rin drinks her coffee black.

She’s tried adding sugar, but to her palette, that sweetness just ruins the taste of those fine coffee beans. She’s tried it with creamers of several varieties, which does make the drink go down smooth on her tongue, but the taste is still altered. There is just something about the taste of coffee in its purest form that Rin craves. She might be a bit of a bean snob (only freshly ground brews for her), but a simple black coffee is all she ever wants.

She takes one now as she heads to her seat. Today, she’s regrouping with her internship friends as a patron here for a change. Obito and Kushina are on shift, chatting away behind the counter, while Rin joins Shizune and Kurenai at a table in the corner. She’s been spending more and more time with them now that she’s trying to keep her mind off of men. Following up on Kakashi, Rin doesn’t wish to make another attempt for a good while. She’s happy now to be with friends, to see her career advance while she receives regular accolades from Tsunade at the hospital. Even Shizune’s impressed with Rin, and she’s pretty much Tsunade’s right hand on the trauma unit.

When Rin sits, Kurenai peers sharp eyes into her coffee. “You’re not putting anything in that?”

“Nope.” Rin sips and hisses at the burn. “I like it just like this.”

Shizune shrugs as she sips her tea. “It is healthier that way.”

Kurenai raises a slim brow at Shizune as she picks up her iced caramel macchiato. “You don’t need to tell  _ me _ what’s healthy. I may be a little newer than you, but I think I know what I’m doing when it comes to health.”

“Tsunade never would’ve picked you otherwise,” Shizune agrees before turning dark eyes on Rin. “Do you think you’re ready for Tsunade’s upcoming assessment?”

Rin takes a deep breath and uses it to blow into her coffee. “I think so. Maybe.”

“Rin.” Kurenai sets her swirling cup on the table and narrows her eyes. “It’s in a couple of days. You’ve got this. Don’t think I didn’t see the way you handled that last emergency that rolled in.”

“Oh, yeah!” Shizune agrees.

Rin tunes out the rest of her friends’ accolades and sets her gaze past the counter. Obito is talking to Kushina, who’s nodding vigorously, but their eyes gravitate occasionally in Rin’s direction. She knows they can overhear this conversation. They’re rooting for her to succeed, too. It feels good. But not good enough, apparently, because even days after her initial disappointment has passed, the ache in her heart left by Kakashi’s rejection still lingers.

“We can’t be distracted by anything,” Kurenai says.

Those firm words break Rin from her trance. When she sets her eyes on Kurenai, then Shizune, she sees the determination written on their faces that  _ she _ wants to exhibit. Kakashi is a distraction and Rin needs to shake this off if she’s going to prove herself to Tsunade and her entire team of professors.

“Like,” Shizune adds, narrowing her eyes at Kurenai, “boyfriends.”

“Hey,” Kurenai’s red lips part into a grin.  _ “My _ boyfriend won’t be a distraction.”

She’s turning to Rin before she catches herself and snaps her lips shut. Rin sips her coffee and averts her gaze, hoping by feigning ignorance about what Kurenai was leading into will save her from hearing anything about the subject. Her friends at the hospital have heard  _ all _ about her plight. Kurenai has been especially sympathetic, building a relationship while watching Rin’s attempt fail to launch. Rin has told her friends she’s getting over it but they can see she’s  _ not _ over Kakashi.

“So,” Shizune says, sipping her tea to hide the grimace Rin can still see. “I don’t think Tsunade will make the assessment impossible or anything. She’s tough, but she  _ is _ reasonable. Usually.”

“I’m not nervous,” Rin decides.

Because she isn’t. Nothing Tsunade throws at her can compare to the torture she’s put herself through this past week. Rin is  _ ready _ to be a nurse. She knows she’s a natural healer. 

Rin shakes her head and dismisses her cooling coffee with a gentle push. “As a matter of fact, I’m going to head home and review some things. I just want to make sure to go over it all one last time.”

“Okay,” Kurenai says warily.

“Good luck!” Shizune says as Rin retrieves her bag from the ground. “If any questions come up, feel free to text me. I’ll probably be up all night to go over them with you.”

“Me, too,” Rin laughs. “Try to get some rest tonight, though, hm?”

“Rin!” Obito calls from behind the counter. “Good luck tomorrow!”

“Kick ass!” Kushina adds with a wide grin.

“Thanks, guys.” Rin turns for the front door with a sigh. She’s looking forward to a walk through the chilly night air to cool her head.

After she steps into the blast of wind sending her hair whipping in her face and her coat flapping against her arms, Rin starts her solitary walk amidst the crowd. That’s what she intends it to be anyway, but she immediately gets the pervasive sense of having eyes on her, not just in the way passing glances come from strangers. She draws to a stop.

She feels a light tap on her shoulder almost immediately. When Rin turns around, heavy-lidded eyes gaze down on her beneath the shadows cast by Kakashi’s silver hair and the streetlights glowing overhead. All that silence and now he’s ambushing her outside her workplace.

“Rin.” Kakashi’s eyes look sorrowful as he sticks his hands into his trenchcoat pockets. “Can we talk?”

“Oh?” Rin’s gaze hardens before she’s even considered how she should react. “Now you want to talk?”

“I...owe you an explanation.”

Rin purses her lips. An explanation. She doesn’t even know if she wants an explanation at this point. She has at least a partial one now. Kakashi hasn’t been oblivious. He  _ knows _ he’s left her hanging these past days.

Rin shakes her head. “I’m not sure…”

“It’ll only take a minute,” Kakashi presses. His brows knit, creating a shadowy dimple between his eyebrows that draws Rin’s gaze back into the depths of his eyes, where she gets lost.

The bump of a passerby breaches her space, jostling Rin up against the concrete block lining these buildings, and before she’s given her answer, Kakashi follows her, cornering her between the solid wall and the passing traffic.

“I’m sorry...I never called you.”

_ He should be sorry _ …is what Rin wants to tell him until she recognizes the tense set of Kakashi’s shoulders and the tightness in his jaw.

“There’s...I don’t–” Kakashi growls and looks away.

“What?” Rin says, half-angered, half desperate to hear what he could have such trouble saying.

He pins Rin with a glare. “If it was just for one night out, I could have called. But...I  _ like _ you, Rin. I would want more than that.”

“That’s,” Rin says as she crosses her arms and shivers away the cold, “kind of what I had in mind, Kakashi.”

Kakashi shakes his head as his eyes explore Rin’s face. He wears the expression of a man admiring the stars in the sky or witnessing a glowing sunset. Rin’s throat tightens as she takes in every feature of Kakashi’s face, left open and unguarded while he discovers something deeper than the curious and skeptical face of the woman looking back at him. Rin watches Kakashi’s eyes move swiftly, darting side to side. His lips part slightly, but they never lift at the edges.

“It can’t - it won’t work,” he explains, looking like the words pain him as much as they pain Rin. “At first,” he laughs wryly, rolling his eyes toward the streetlights, “I only hesitated because of Anko.”

“Anko?”

Kakashi meets Rin’s stupefied gaze. “She really liked you, that day you met. You can imagine, when you gave  _ me _ your number–”

“Anko?” Rin cries. “The woman who slapped your ass?”

Kakashi gives Rin a sly smile. “I told you I wasn’t her type.”

Rin raises her brows. “Oh.”

“Anyway,” Kakashi says, letting out a wistful sigh, “While I was waiting on her to text me back, I got a new case assigned to me. This client...he did really...bad things to women. But I  _ am _ defending him. That’s the kind of man I am, Rin.” His frown deepens. “I know it wasn’t right, not calling you. Then seeing you that day and not saying anything about it...I’m scum. I was hoping I’d see that you’d forgotten about me and moved on. It fits the pattern for me, somehow, looking to be let off the hook. I tried to - I had to tell you I’m not interested. But every time, I couldn’t–”

“Kakashi!” Rin hisses.

She narrows her eyes at him and bites her lip. She sees what he’s doing. Rin doesn’t need him to waste his breath drawing out this sorry excuse, even if he seems very convinced of the danger he’ll cause her by being anywhere near her. She already knows enough of his father’s history and the firm he represents to know where this is leading. And sure, he might defend dangerous people or even get on their bad side, but that’s his  _ job _ and someone has to do it. Rin comes across the same dangerous people in her line of work at the trauma unit, but  _ she’s _ not going to let it stop her from living her life.

“I may not know you well enough yet to tell you you’re  _ not _ scum,” Rin whispers, the words tearing at her throat. “But you’re not even giving me the chance to  _ get _ to know you.” 

She looks into his eyes, and it’s sad, what she finds there. It’s not  _ his _ sadness, because his eyes have gone cold again. If he can’t stop walling himself off, there’s nothing more Rin can do to get through to him. He’s isolated. He’s so alone. All Rin’s trying to do is reach out to him, a kindness which he seems to want, but he refuses to let himself have this. He’s the most beautiful and tragic thing Rin has ever witnessed.

Rin raises her hand to Kakashi’s cheek, watches him shiver as her cool fingers press on the warm skin along the line of his jaw. “Minato’s right. You need to take better care of yourself, Kakashi. There’s nothing wrong with letting people care for you.”

His eyes blow wide, lighting with awe and emotions previously hidden. The line of his lips softens as he leans down. Rin gasps as the space between them closes and Kakashi presses his lips to Rin’s. As his smooth kiss glides over her lips, Rin closes her eyes.

She could’ve left it. She could’ve just walked away and moved on from Kakashi’s self-sacrificial rejection. But not after this kiss. She is sinking deeper with every stroke of his lips and when his hand lightly grips her waist, she is drowning in him.

When Kakashi pulls away, Rin breathes again, filling her aching lungs with the air of which she’s deprived herself.

“I–”

“Kakashi,” Rin says firmly to the apology she catches in his tone and his eyes.

Kakashi sweeps his hand from Rin’s waist, down into his pocket as he sighs. “Let me text you.”

Rin’s lips, still tingling from that kiss, pull into a smile as she watches Kakashi’s trembling grip around his phone as his thumb swipes and taps at his screen. When her phone dings in her purse, Rin’s heart soars. Only moments ago, she thought they’d never get here. Now, the notification she finds when she pulls out her phone leaves her with the heartwarming promise of a winking kiss.

She lets him walk her home, both to draw out the time she spends with him and to show him she’s perfectly capable of watching her surroundings. Rin isn’t anymore afraid of Kakashi’s clients than she is of her patients. She might be a little nervous about  _ Kakashi _ after what he’s told her, especially now that she’s throwing her feelings at his mercy. She wouldn’t change a thing about this, though. Being with Kakashi, holding his hand as she arrives at her building - it’s everything she was hoping for.


	9. On the House

“A stupid emoji?” Obito sneers as Rin hands off a drink to their latest customer.  _ “That’s _ what you waited a week for?”

“Well, not just an emoji,” Rin says, gloating behind her smile.

Nothing can bring her down today. She succeeded all her trials at the hospital and is  _ officially _ a nurse. She has it all locked in - certificate, degree, job offer from Tsunade to remain employed on her unit. And above all else, she has her first date scheduled with Kakashi.

Rin turns to her purse, careful to avoid Madara’s peering from the back room with eyes that seem to glow red from the shadows. She peels her phone free with the stealth of a ninja, turns to Obito, and shows him the text she’s been eyeing throughout the day.

“He sent me this just this morning,” Rin says.

She scrolls to the  _ Good Morning _ text with an image of Pakkun. His furry brown and gray rolls tuck into the Pakkun-sized divot in the gray coverlet. From his spot in the middle of the bed, he glares saggy eyes into the camera. Rin has looked at it so many times today, she practically has the image memorized. With the phone incospicuously tucked against her body, Rin turns the image to Obito.

“Uh-huh.” Obito says before raising a brow at her. “Cute.”

Rin laughs as she puts away her phone. Obito definitely doesn’t find it cute. But she does.

“Obito,” Rin scolds lightly, “don’t tell me you still have a problem with Kakashi.”

“I don’t,” Obito says as he gives a nod to their latest customer stepping out the door with a wave. “I’m worried about you  _ dating _ Kakashi. He practically told you his thug clients might come after you if he pisses them off, right? And this is Kakashi. We already know he’s going to piss someone off.”

Rin shakes her head. “He’s worrying too much. So are you. He thinks he doesn’t deserve a relationship because of what he does. Think about how  _ sad _ that is, Obito. No wonder he’s lonely.”

“Rin.” Obito sighs. “You’re amazing. You have such a good heart. Just don’t...I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Rin bites her lip. She doesn’t expect to be hurt in the way Kakashi and Obito worry she might be. She’s putting a lot of trust in Kakashi though - trust he doesn’t have in himself. She’s leaving herself open and vulnerable to someone she hopes can feel the same way about her as she feels about him.

“Obito,” Rin drawls, crossing her arm across her chest and grasping at the sleeve of her sweater, playing with the texture of the thick cable knit. “I won’t get hurt.”

Obito bites his lip and looks away. He seems almost angry with her as Rin watches his brows knit together and his bottom lip redden from the pressure of his teeth sinking into it. She knows the friendship Obito and Kakashi have developed is unstable, only just budding into something that can stand on its own. Rin would hate to be the cause for any differences between them if something were to go wrong on her end. Rin sighs at that thought. She doesn't want to imagine something going wrong on her end. If it comes to that, she knows the dissolution of Kakashi and Obito’s friendship will be the last thing on her mind.

Obito looks at Rin, pursing his lips. “What does Kakashi have to say about you becoming head nurse over at Konoha Hospital?”

Rin laughs. “I’m not head nurse. I am simply  _ a _ nurse.”

Being able to say that thrills Rin beyond belief. She loves being in this position in her life, even if it feels completely surreal. She can’t believe years of studying and preparing have brought her to this point. She can tend to patients of her  _ own _ now.

“Rin Nohara,” Madara’s voice croaks from the back room, like a specter emerging from the dark, “the  _ nurse. _ Don’t think you can just quit on me one day without leaving your two weeks notice. I am  _ not _ going to be subjected to scrambling for a replacement.”

“He wouldn’t,” Obito grumbles, shooting a glare to the dimly-lit back room, “because he’d have  _ me _ doing his dirty work.” Obito sets his gaze on Rin. “You’re not leaving us now, are you, Rin?”

“I–”

The electronic door chime directs both Rin and Obito’s gases to the glare of the swinging front door, and Rin lets it steal her attention. She appreciates Kushina and Minato’s convenient timing. She isn’t ready to tell Obito about her plans yet because she senses it will disappoint him. They’ve formed a connection here during their time working together. Obito is in the coffee business for the long haul. He’ll be devastated when he realizes Rin is leaving him behind, though it’s inevitable. Once she’s on a full nursing schedule, she won’t have time  _ or _ need for a second job. Obito has to understand that. Rin knows Kushina will; and Madara’s been counting on it. But Obito is like an adult who’s convinced himself of the existence of Santa Claus...he won’t acknowledge the reality that Rin will not work by his side forever until  _ she _ commits the crime of destroying his illusions.

“Kushina!” Obito yells, grinning as he sets his hands on his hips. “Minato! How’s it going?”

“Obito,” Kushina growls from the doorway as Minato removes her coat and her fiery eyes narrow in Obito’s direction. “We are on a  _ date, _ ya know. Act like you don’t know me for awhile.”

“But I do know you,” Obito says as he scratches his head. “And Minato. Wh–”

Kushina’s answering growl is directed at Obito and makes him bite his tongue, but even across the shop, Rin can see Minato’s resulting tremble. A moment later, a vivid pink flush blossoms on his sunkissed cheeks.

“Kushina,” Rin says, “I can bring your drinks to your table, if you want.”

“Yeah, okay!” Kushina follows the movement of her coat with her face pinched as Minato slings it across the back of a chair. “I’ll have the pumpkin thing! Large! But add that butterscotch mixer. And  _ lots _ of whipped cream!”

When she looks to Minato, who has his coat removed now to reveal his button-front flannel shirt, Minato stutters before turning to Rin. “Ah. Yes. I’ll have...a small latte please.”

“I thought your drink was espresso,” Kushina says while Rin turns to the machines, shoulder to shoulder with Obito.

They snicker together as they listen to Kushina drill Minato on his preferences, what  _ other _ things he likes that he hasn’t yet told her about, and then Minato turning it around with a simple whispered question that makes Kushina’s voice soften. Obito steams Minato’s latte while Rin tops Kushina’s concoction with her additions of choice, and Rin sighs fondly. She’s going to miss this place when the time comes to leave it.

Rin glances over her shoulder to catch Kushina planting a kiss on Minato’s cheek while his eyes are focused on something he’s showing her on his phone. The surprised look he gives Kushina is enough to make Rin melt on the spot. The two of them are the most adorable adults Rin has ever seen. 

She nudges Obito with her elbow. “They’re so cute together, aren’t they?”

Obito follows her gaze and huffs a laugh. “Yeah. They really seem perfect for each other.”

Rin raises a brow at him. “You think Kakashi and I can be cute together like that?”

“No,” Obito says, but the way he says it makes Rin  _ wonder _ as his cheeks flush and he looks away. “You’re...I mean you’re gorgeous, Rin. I can’t ever see you as just cute.”

Rin blows a raspberry and lifts Kushina’s drink into her hand. “You’re just saying that. People don’t think I’m gorgeous.”

“It’s true!” Obito says as he takes Minato’s drink and carries it carefully through the passage between the counters.

“Well,” Rin says as she follows, “in that same regard, I want you to know you are very handsome, Obito.”

“But not  _ Kakashi _ handsome.”

Rin presses her lips together. Heat rushes to her cheeks and burns her ears at just the images Obito’s comment conjures in her mind. Kakashi’s sly smile. The way he looked at her just before they kissed. The sight of his full body every time he walks into the coffee shop.

“Yeah,” Obito says with a roll of his eyes, still smiling as he hands Minato his drink. “There you go. One small latte. Sir.”

He raises a brow at Kushina as he gives her a cheeky smile. Kushina winks her thanks at him as she takes her drink from Rin.

“Anything else?” Rin asks, folding her hands together.

“No,” Kushina says as she brings her straw to her lips. “That’ll be all.”

Minato shifts in his chair, reaching for his back pocket.

Obito holds out his hand. “No. It’s on the house.”

“Oh, I can’t-” Minato looks to Kushina and desists arguing when he sees the way her jaw tightens. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Rin insists. “Have fun, you two.”

She takes Obito by the hand, dragging him back behind the counter with her. They need to get out of Kushina’s way, as much for their own sakes as for Kushina and Minato’s. Those two don’t have the wrong idea, bringing their date here. Rin thinks of it as something to look forward to, and with one quick peek at Madara, she reaches into her purse to type out a quick text to suggest as much to Kakashi. She hopes it’s not too forward of her or too soon to make such a suggestion. Immediately after sending the text, she worries Kakashi will be appalled at the idea of dating where Rin’s coworkers can watch them together.

Kakashi’s response comes only a moment later, made apparent by the silent vibration in Rin’s purse. She is put at ease the second she reads Kakashi’s straightforward, one-word answer: Sure. She smiles as she puts her phone away. Kakashi won’t hold back from arguing if he has objections. A fast agreement from him is as good as excitement as far as Rin sees it. And she is excited.

She has plans in motion for her first date with Kakashi tomorrow night.


	10. Coffee Date

Dating Kakashi is not exactly what Rin expected. He is surprisingly chivalrous with his instinctive reactions every time Rin nears a door - also with how often he asks Rin’s permission before putting his hands any place she may not allow. He isn’t talkative, which is not surprising following their history of conversation thus far, but Rin can’t complain as she has plenty of material for bridging the quiet gaps. They saw a movie of Rin’s choosing tonight, which gave her the opportunity to bask in the warming sensation of Kakashi’s palm cupping hers, his rough thumb sweeping over her knuckles, his grip tightening every few minutes as if he were afraid Rin might jump from her seat and leave the heavenly sanctuary of a dark auditorium where only the two of them existed for a time.

But now that the movie’s over, now that Rin has told Kakashi all about her forward movement and promotion at the hospital as she told Obito the other day, the date is drawing to an end. She’s glad she suggested coming  _ here, _ or Kakashi might not have had a follow-up activity in mind.

“Aren’t you worried it’s too late to drink coffee?” Kakashi asks.

He draws to a stop just shy of reaching the coffee house door. Rin reaches to touch his lower back, drawing herself close to this man subconsciously closing himself off with his hands shoved in his pockets. His warmth permeates through Rin’s peacoat as she presses against the stiff fabric of his wool trenchcoat. Rin breathes in his scent for what feels like the hundredth time tonight. Even more appealing than the things he is doing to her senses is the fact that Kakashi has been listening. He’s concerned about Rin getting enough sleep because she told him she has an early shift at the hospital tomorrow to round off the end of her internship.

“I can drink decaf,” Rin tells him, and scowls when she looks up to find doubt in his eyes. “You don’t have a problem with being here, do you? We can go somewhere el–”

“No.” Kakashi expels a harsh breath. “It’s nothing like that.” He slants his gaze at her as his eyes narrow ever-so-slightly. “You’re sure you’re comfortable going in there...with me? You haven’t been uncomfortable tonight?”

“Well,” Rin laughs as she squeezes herself closer to Kakashi’s body heat, warding off a sharp breeze that whistles as it sweeps through them down the vacant street. “I’m a little cold  _ out here. _ Don’t you think we’ll both be more comfortable inside?”

Kakashi bites his lip and nods. Rin reaches for the door, but it opens  _ for _ her. Fiery red cuts into the dark hues of the night as Kushina pokes her head out.

“What are you two doin’ here?” she asks.

Rin shivers against Kakashi, shying away from Kushina’s prying gaze sweeping intently over the two of them. “We were going to get some coffee.”

“Oh,” Kushina says with a grimace. The inside of the coffee shop darkens, blacking out the yellow light previously shining onto the sidewalk. Kushina looks back at it. “We didn’t know you were coming, ya know. It’s closing time, Rin.”

“Hey,” Rin hears Obito’s muffled call from deep inside the dark coffee house, “what’s the problem, Kushina?”

“Rin’s here!” she yells into the coffee shop before smirking at Rin. “With Kakashi!”

“Kakashi?”

“Kushina,” Rin says, “if any of the machines are still on–”

“Obito!” Kushina yells, kicking her foot into the door and raising her fist into the coffee shop. “Don’t you dare turn off another machine! Rin’s gonna use them! You go out the back door!”

Rin smiles. “Don’t worry, I’ll lock up.”

Kushina winks at Kakashi and Rin before stepping out into the street with her oversized bag swinging against her hip. Before Rin can say anything, Kushina lunges forward to plant a sloppy kiss on her cheek. Then Kushina draws Kakashi in with a forceful hand to transfer her lips from Rin’s cheek to his before pulling away with an audible smack.

“Hey!” Kakashi snaps. He peels his hand from his pocket to wipe his cheek as he glares at Kushina.

Kushina laughs. “Don’t you two do something I wouldn’t do.”

“And what’s that?” Kakashi quips with a tone that suggests Kushina’s possibilities are limitless.

Kushina’s answering smirk suggests the same thing. 

She reaches into her bag, pulls out a felt orange fedora by the rim, and slants it on her head so her eyes appear mysterious beneath the shadow it casts. The only distinct feature of her face is her smile, which cuts through the darkness with a sliver of shining white teeth between glossy coral lips.

“Have a good night,” she says as she swings one leg out to the sidewalk, and then lets it fall, turning herself around dramatically before walking away from them. She doesn’t look back. 

Rin takes a deep breath and meets Kakashi’s eyes before reaching for the door. “It’s just the two of us. Would you like to see what I do here?”

Kakashi lilts his shoulder in a lazy shrug. “Sure.”

As Rin tugs the door open, she almost expects to find Obito lurking in the dark. She switches on the lights only to find chairs stacked on the tables of the empty coffee house. So Obito did as Kushina asked. As realization settles in that she and Kakashi are truly alone, Rin feels anticipation swirl in her gut. This is more than  _ feeling _ like she’s alone with him in the movie theater. This is actually  _ being _ alone with him, getting the chance to see what he’ll do when no one is looking, when no one can judge, when Rin can tell him what she wants.

“Now,” Rin says, putting a skip in her step as she grabs Kakashi’s hand and leads him to the machines, “come join me behind the counter.”

Kakashi moves easily to the pull of Rin’s hand. His arm is slack on her leash and it takes no effort to make him arrive at her side by the coffee maker. When Rin reaches for the sack of her favorite beans, she checks Kakashi’s expression. She finds his gaze focused on her. Attentive. So attractive.

Rin clears her throat. “I’ll brew some coffee for myself, but your favorite cold brew should already be made. That’s down here.”

She sets the beans aside and reaches down to the fridge beneath the counter, feeling a thrill travel up her spine at the thoughts of her compromising position. Kakashi stands behind her as she opens the fridge. He could do anything to her. Rin’s mind fills in all the awful, wonderful possibilities until she’s standing and he hasn’t touched her. When she turns with a chilled pitcher of cold brew in her hand, Kakashi slides in close and leans into her space. Rin’s breath catches in her throat.

Kakashi stops with his lips just out of Rin’s reach. “What do you put in your coffee?”

Rin exhales as Kakashi’s minty breath fans her lips. “W-well...nothing.”

“It doesn’t need anything?”

Rin shakes her head, though the movement is stilted as her lips brush Kakashi’s. “No.”

“You like to taste the coffee pure?”

“Yes,” Rin sighs.

“You should try the cold brew,” Kakashi says, looking down at Rin’s lips and back up to meet her eyes with a smoldering heat burning in that dark gaze. “It’s even purer. Strong flavor. Less bitter.”

Rin brings her knuckles to Kakashi’s face, strokes along the silky skin until her fingers nearly touch his lips. “Smoother,” she whispers.

“Exactly,” Kakashi says, the words making his soft lips bump Rin’s knuckles.

Knowing it’s what he wants, Rin drops her hand out of their way and presses it to his chest. It’s what  _ she _ wants. She presses forward, connecting their lips. As Kakashi sucks her bottom lip and then presses his tongue through the slot made by Rin’s breathy sigh, Rin wonders if it was actually  _ he _ who kissed  _ her. _ It doesn’t matter. As she twines her tongue around Kakashi’s and explores inside his slick and delicious mouth, she doesn’t care who started it. His teeth nip at her bottom lip as Kakashi pulls her by the waist, drawing their bodies flush against the counter. Rin relinquishes the pitcher in her hand to the counter with a screeching slide. She hears the glass wobble and the liquid splash as Kakashi’s hand slides lower on Rin’s back. Kakashi cups her ass with a greedy palm and draws her pelvis flush against him. She moans as his tongue makes a wet sweep across her upper lip. Layers of fabric between them frustrate her. She wants to feel the contours of his body.

“Ka-ka-shi,” she pants against his lips.

Rin grasps Kakashi by the waist with both hands and digs her fingers into the thick fabric keeping her from feeling him before gliding her hands down to where she  _ would _ be able to feel his ass if the fabric wasn’t like a cylinder around him. She needs to get him out of that coat. As Kakashi’s fingers pry into the buttons lining the front of  _ her _ coat, Rin realizes Kakashi is of the same mind.

_ “What _ is this?”

Rin breaks their kiss to hiss through her teeth and clench her eyes shut. “Fuck.”

“Hm?” Kakashi hums before turning a gaze over his shoulder.

“I should call the cops,” Madara raves before Rin tilts her head past Kakashi’s shoulder to meet Madara’s gaze. “Oh. It’s  _ you.” _

“Madara,” Rin says as the gap between her and Kakashi stretches, “we were–”

“I can  _ see _ what you’re doing,” Madara drawls as Kakashi turns to face him and Rin rakes her fingers through her hair. “Why are you doing it in  _ my shop?” _

“Coffee,” Kakashi says curtly, wrapping his fingers through the handle of the cold brew pitcher and raising it as evidence to Madara.

“And you are?” Madara drawls.

“Kakashi,” Kakashi says as he plucks a plastic cup from the stack on the counter. “Kakashi Hatake.”

“Well, Kakashi Hatake,” Madara says, stepping forward from the shadows, his long white hair coming into the light making him look like a glowing ghost. “I could have you arrested for trespassing.”

“No,” Kakashi says as he holds the cup and pours his cold brew. “You couldn’t, actually.”

“What?”

“I’m a guest of someone who has a key.” Kakashi says, angling his gaze at the cup he lifts before his eyes. “Feel free to ask me to leave, but calling in the police would only be a waste of both our time.”

“Rin!” Madara snarls, leaning on the counter to approach her with a tired gait. “I don’t care about your two weeks notice anymore. I’ll fire you!”

“On what grounds?” Kakashi says. When Rin snorts at his unintentional pun, Kakashi looks at her with a withering glare.

Madara narrows his eyes. “Are you a lawyer or something?”

“Yes.”

“Madara,” Rin pleads, trying not to smile as she watches Kakashi sip his cold brew and savor the taste with a sigh, “we really mean no harm. I was going to shut everything down properly, exactly the same as I do at the end of all my shifts.”

“This is my shop,” Madara tells her snidely as he folds his arms across his chest, “and I will not have horny teenagers using it as their own personal cesspool.”

“Teenagers?” Kakashi grumbles.

“Fine,” Rin says, “we’ll leave. Come on, Kakashi.”

When Rin grabs Kakashi’s hand, he resists the tug. She looks at him to see he is glaring at Madara, and Madara is glaring back at him.

“Madara, is it?” Kakashi addresses Madara. “Rin will give her two weeks notice when she’s ready. Until then, don’t threaten her again.”

“Who do you think you are  _ talking _ to?” Madara hisses.

“Kakashi!” Rin warns.

Kakashi gives her a look that tells her to trust him. Rin feels her chest clench with the pressure of that decision. She  _ does _ trust Kakashi. Without any reason beyond knowing he is intelligent and capable, she trusts him now as she knows she will trust him anytime he requests it of her.

“Otherwise,” Kakashi drawls before  _ smiling _ at Madara like he actually might tell him something pleasant, “she can sue you for harassment.”

Madara balks. “You little shit. I  _ eat _ smug kids like you for breakfast!”

“Madara,” Rin interrupts before Kakashi can say something caustic and sarcastic back to her boss, “I’m giving you my two weeks notice now. I’m ready.”

“Oh?” Madara raises a twitching brow at Rin. “You’re serious, little girl.”

Rin finds satisfaction in giving Madara a curt nod. “Dead serious. I’ll keep my current schedule, but when you plan the next one, don’t include me on it.”

“Fine,” Madara says through gritted, crooked teeth before narrowing his eyes at Kakashi. “And you. I don’t want to see you in my coffee shop again.”

“I’m a paying customer.”

“I  _ don’t,” _ Madara insists, “want you distracting this one as long as she’s employed here. And don’t you even think of putting ideas in Obito’s head. He is my inheritor and he needs to focus on the coffee shop, not...whatever it is you have going on here.”

Kakashi shrugs. “All right.”

The way he says it makes Rin think it is anything but “all right”. She presses her lips together to hide her instinct to smile from Madara, who’s probably too busy glaring at Kakashi to notice her. Rin hopes Obito can take this place over from Madara soon. She’d love to continue patronizing it once she’s a full time nurse, but not if she has to worry about Madara looking over her shoulder every time she comes here.

Madara purses his dry lips. “All right.”

He angles a look at Rin. It only takes her a moment to realize this is her signal to leave. At this point, she’s happy to go. And she’ll leave the shutdown and cleanup in Madara’s hands if he’s going to be such an ass about kicking them out and interrupting her date. 

She takes Kakashi by the hand and squeezes. “Let’s go.”

Kakashi squeezes her fingers as he allows her to lead him out the front of the coffee shop, but not before he swings around to open the door for her. Rin smiles at him, happy to find a warm, assuring look in his eyes. As Rin passes through the door, Kakashi presses a hand to her lower back and remains close to her as they begin their walk together through the dark street.

“You know not to listen to him, right?” Kakashi says as he slides his hands into his pockets. Rin loops her arm through his and looks up to see his beseeching gaze. “You’re a  _ nurse, _ Rin. You’ve accomplished what you set out to do. You don’t need a crotchety old man talking down to you.”

“No,” Rin laughs, her cheeks warming under his compliments. “I guess I don’t. He’s just really invested in the coffee shop, I think. And Obito’s future.”

“Obito,” Kakashi drawls as they turn a corner. “He’s going to own the coffee shop someday?”

“Yes,” Rin says. “It’s been his ambition this year to really get a handle on everything Madara does. Madara saw him as his protege since the day he started. Obito really knows how to keep the customers happy. I’ve still never been able to brew a cup as well as he makes it.”

“You and Obito...were you two ever…”

“What? No.” Rin sighs. “Obito and me? We’ve been best friends as long as I can remember. Before Kushina even, though now I feel like I’ve known her all my life.”

“Me, too,” Kakashi groans, looking skyward. “Like an overbearing older sister.”

“You have siblings?”

“No. You?”

“No.” Rin shrugs. “What else do you like to do when you’re not...defending criminals?”

“Visit coffee shops,” Kakashi says as he casts her a devilishly handsome smile, “admire the girl behind the counter.”

Rin feels the rush of her nervous laughter before she hears it. “You didn’t come there for me.”

“Maybe not the first time.”

“Kakashi,” Rin breathes as she looks up into his eyes to see them fixed on her as if they are the only two people on this entire street.

She raises on her toes and kisses him. It’s so natural, the way their lips slot together. Rin  _ wants _ to believe Kakashi has been admiring her from afar as much as she’s been seeking his attention, but if he has, he’s masked it well. Regardless, that doesn’t matter now. The way he kisses her proves that Kakashi wants to devour every part of Rin. He sucks on her tongue as if it is his ambrosia. He slides his hand through the lapel of Rin’s coat and caresses her chest through her cardigan as if he can feel her skin, as if his calluses can trace every supple curve of  _ her. _

Rin pants as she breaks their kiss. She feels a long-neglected tightness in her core - an aching  _ want _ she isn’t ready for just yet. Continuing the kiss will only lead her to the rash decision that will be jumping into the deep end of Kakashi. She is determined to learn to swim his waters first.

Kakashi licks his swollen, reddened lips. “Rin.”

Rin nods down the length of the sidewalk. “My apartment is just down there. Thank you...for walking me home tonight. I had...a  _ really _ good time, Kakashi.”

“Me, too,” he says, though disappointment dims the light in his eyes.

The warmth of his hand slides away from Rin. Cool air rushes in through the gap left in her coat as he withdraws his hand completely. Rin shivers and wraps her coat tighter, but the warmth the fabric lends her is a poor substitute. She’s already yearning for the return of Kakashi’s touch. She’s smart enough not to encourage it.

Quickly, she shoots up on her toes again and pecks Kakashi’s cheek. “Good night.”

Kakashi closes his eyes and touches his face where Rin left a pink lipstick mark. “Goodnight, Rin.”

Rin opens her mouth, wanting to say more, but she has to seal her lips before she says something she shouldn’t. If she was a weaker woman, she’d invite him in. She wouldn’t stop anything that happens after. But then she  _ knows _ she won’t be ready for the downfall of this relationship if it should go sour. It’s too green to have taken root yet, and she wants so much to see how beautiful it will be when it blooms.

She’ll text him in the morning to set up their next date - and the next, and the next. She doesn’t know how long her will can last, but she intends to stretch this early phase to its fullest. She hopes Kakashi can be as patient with her as  _ she _ has been with  _ him _ up until now.


	11. A Cup of Coffee Is Never Just a Cup of Coffee

“It gets harder with every date,” Rin whispers across the counter to Shizune and Kurenai.

Shizune snickers when Kurenai’s curled index finger extends pointedly in Rin’s direction, paired with her wicked grin. “I’m sure it does.”

Rin groans as heat washes over her face. “You guys.”

There are other patrons right behind them in line who could overhear or possibly understand Kurenai’s innuendo. Rin tries to concentrate on keying in the order Shizune and Kurenai just gave her while Obito makes the drinks at her back, but echoes of their conversation keep distracting her, stuck on replay in her mind. She’s been dating Kakashi for a week now, and her will to hold off on sex is faltering. He is so _good_ with his hands. She wants to know what he can do with them when they’re not restricted by layers of clothing and the possibilities of being caught at public indecency. She hasn’t invited him into her apartment once. She still doesn’t even know where he lives. 

“Honestly, what are you waiting for, Rin?” Kurenai asks as she takes her iced coffee from Obito’s hand and sips. “Go for it.”

“Hey,” Shizune complains after the drink Obito hands her spills over her fingertips.

“Sorry,” Obito mutters as he hands a napkin across the counter. “Rin, I’ll help this next customer if you want to take this over there.”

As Obito nods to an empty table in the corner, Shizune sends Obito a small smile. “You’re so nice, Obito.”

Obito grunts as he presses on Rin’s hip, shooing her from the register. “Go on.”

Before Rin can object, the man in line behind Kurenai is already placing his order. Obito’s attention is fully shifted to him while Rin’s friends’ attention is locked on her.

“Come on,” Shizune says to Rin before raising a brow at Kurenai as she turns. “You really think her relationship is ready for that big step?”

“Yes,” Kurenai says emphatically before pinning Rin with her crimson gaze. “If you ask me, Rin’s been a saint. Have you _seen_ Kakashi?”

They sweep into the chairs surrounding the corner table, though Rin is reluctant to relax. She looks back at the counter to see Obito making drinks, a line of customers extending at his back. She needs to get back there and help him. She isn’t on break. She doesn’t even have much time left here before her two weeks are expired. Already, she’s feeling guilty at the thought that Madara might not find a replacement for her in time. She doesn’t want to leave Obito and Kushina overwhelmed here.

Rin turns her gaze on Kurenai. “You’re one to talk. You and Asuma have been going at it like bunnies, from what you’ve been telling us.”

“Yes,” Kurenai says as she sips from her straw. “And?”

Shizune frowns and raises her brows before giving Rin a permissive shrug.

“I-I–” Rin stutters.

“It’ll really relieve your stress and we all know you could use it,” Kurenai says with a naughty smile. “Besides, Kakashi has been nothing but sweet to you. Things are great with him, right?”

“Yes,” Rin says as a pleasurable bubble builds in her throat while her nerves jitter just thinking of how wonderful this past week has been. _“Really_ great.”

“So?” Kurenai raises her brows at Shizune. “Why not take it to the next level?”

Shizune looks to Rin and lilts a shoulder, suggesting she agrees. Rin can’t find any argument there, either. She looks to Obito, grimacing when she finds his shoulders up to his ears, his lips downturned at the edges. He is in a sour mood. Her abandonment of the register, whether encouraged by him or not, has put stress on him. Rin can see the line nearing the door. They _never_ let it grow this long. 

Rin hops out of her seat. “I _really_ need to get back to work. See you two at the hospital tomorrow?”

“Not me,” Shizune says offhandedly as she sips her coffee. “Tsunade’s putting me on a new unit tomorrow. Some new invasive technique she wants me to try out.”

“Oh, okay,” Rin says, “good luck.”

Kurenai waves her hand daintily. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

Rin rushes around the table, cuts across the line of customers, and joins Obito on the other side as she claps her hands together. “Okay! What am I making?”

“Cappuccino for this one, black coffee for the other,” Obito says, nodding to two middle-aged, impatient-looking customers leaning over the counter. “Both large.”

Rin hurries to assemble the drinks. She becomes so absorbed in her work as Obito calls off another drink to her and another to satisfy the customers that follow in line, that she doesn’t notice when Obito has finished. As she turns to deliver her fourth or fifth drink across the counter, she notices the elderly man taking it is their lone remaining customer, and he’s already paid.

As he hobbles away thanking Obito and giving Rin a smile, Obito clears his throat. He turns his back to Rin as he busies himself with cleaning the cappuccino station.

“You didn’t have to let me talk to them,” Rin tells him by way of apology. Once he doesn’t react and she realizes her apology’s fallen flat, she adds. “I’m sorry I was gone so long. That conversation really could’ve waited.”

Obito’s black head of hair bobs as he nods. He faces away from Rin, not turning to acknowledge her. Rin furrows her brows. Obito is always so patient with her, so supportive, so forgiving. She’s not used to getting treatment like this from him, but she supposes she deserves it after leaving him to do so much work on his own. She’s sure he’s coming down from the stressful rush of managing so many people and so many tasks, so she decides to give him some space and leave him alone. Rin heads into the back room and restocks the cups. She takes a moment while she’s back there to replace a new roll of toilet paper in their bathroom and add soap to the dispenser by the sink. 

By the time she returns to the front, she expects to find Obito back to his usual cheerful self. He looks at her over his shoulder from his post at the register. His face pinches, landing somewhere between a glare and a pout. He rests his hand on his chin as he slouches over the counter and turns away from her.

Rin steps forward and touches his back. “Obito?”

“What time is Kakashi picking you up?”

Rin blinks. “I didn’t tell you Kakashi wa–”

_“He_ did,” Obito says with a sigh. “He told me he’d see me later at the coffee shop when I talked to him this morning.”

Rin smiles. Kakashi and Obito have been, in a sense, having _their_ dates too this past week. They both have this competitive streak Rin can’t comprehend, but it seems they’re enjoying their time together whether they want to admit it or not. Apparently, they both have a thing for gaming in their free time. Obito has told Rin about this game about a hundred times, but she still can’t remember what it’s called. What she does remember about it is that it is a skill game Obito is very serious about mastering, while Kakashi has achieved scores on it that Obito refused to believe until he saw the evidence for himself. Now, they play together almost every day. On the day of Rin’s last date, Kakashi told her Obito had been over playing at his place. Obito has seen Kakashi’s apartment even before Rin. It should be no surprise Kakashi told Obito of their plans for later today.

“He should be here shortly after our shift lets off,” Rin tells Obito. “Why?”

“You have special plans or something?” Obito asks.

Rin shrugs and tries not to blush. “Just...the usual.”

“I see,” Obito clamps his lips shut, still evading Rin’s gaze. “Well, tell him I said hi, I guess.”

“Well, why don’t _you?”_

“I’m taking off early tonight,” Obito says quickly. “Madara has me meeting some distributors of his. He says I need to know how to do this before I take - he didn’t tell you?”

As Obito gawks at her, looking as surprised by Rin’s shocked expression as Rin feels, Rin purses her lips. No, Madara _did not_ tell her. He’s really been on top of his game with making Rin’s life miserable ever since she gave him her two weeks notice. 

“It’s okay,” Rin says for Obito’s sake, not Madara’s. “I’ve got the place covered until Kushina gets here.”

“Great,” Obito says as he looks up, his gaze directed at the overhead digital clock. “I guess I can go now then and get a head start.”

“Yeah,” Rin says as Obito rushes past her to the back room, retrieving papers from Madara’s desk in a flurry of movement “Are you sure you have everything you need?”

“This guy should be easy enough to deal with.” Obito shrugs. “It’s just coffee beans. I have an eye for the good stuff, you know?”

Rin smiles as Obito pokes his head out of the back room, his familiar smile once again lighting his handsome face. 

“You do!” she agrees with relief. “You’re going to be a great entrepreneur once you’re running this place on your own, Obito.”

“Thanks,” Obito says as his cheeks brighten and he runs a hand through his messy hair. “Anyway, I guess...I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah!” Rin says, nodding vigorously.

They’re sharing back-to-back shifts more than usual lately. Kushina’s shifts run a little odd this coming week, which Rin thinks has to do with Madara possibly looking for Rin’s replacement and conducting interviews. Obito is filling in a lot of the gaps, even though Rin shares a fair load of the shifts with both of them. Not for the first time this week, it saddens her to think of leaving this place for good, just like it saddens her today when she watches Obito walk out the door. He leaves her with the feeling that he hasn’t completely forgiven her for abandoning him during their shift, for giving her two weeks notice here, for not sticking by his side to always keep an eye on him like she once told him she would.

Rin bites her lip and settles into a chair behind the counter. It’s been awhile since she’s been in the coffee house alone like this, without coworkers or customers. The last time it was like this, she was able to steal the time to complete assignments. Now, she takes out her phone and starts composing a text to her boyfriend. Rin gnaws on her cheek as she considers where to begin. She could try continuing the emoji chain Kakashi’s left her with. But what she really wants is to say something that will leave Kakashi anticipating their time together tonight. She needs something to suggest they should go back to one of their apartments after they go out together. Except...Rin can’t think of any impressive way to say it.

“What’cha doin’?”

Rin gasps and whirls around to the voice over her shoulder. “Kushina! When did you get here?”

Kushina laughs. “Oh, now I _really_ want to know what you’re doing. I made a lot of noise coming in here and you didn’t even notice! And now you’re all jumpy and blushy?”

“No, it’s not-um-uh-customer!” Rin shoots to her feet and slips her phone into her pocket as the door chimes and swings open with the figure she spied walking through it. “A customer,” Rin repeats with a sigh.

She dashes for the register before Kushina has a chance to express her suspicions. As Rin finds the time displayed on the overhead clock, she can’t believe how much time she’s spent staring at her phone, unable to type one simple message. Now with Kushina here, and at the rate she’s going, she won’t be able to text Kakashi _anything_ before he arrives here.

“Damn,” Kushina growls behind her.

“How can I help you?” Rin asks the lady who walks in dragging a toddler by the hand.

Rin rings the woman up for a macchiato while the child starts fussing, squealing and screeching in a way that makes Rin grit her teeth as Kushina blends the drink. By the time the woman’s paid and left, Rin is thankful to be left alone with Kushina, regardless of what conversation she expects to happen now. Rin decides a preemptive strike might make this easier.

“Kushina,” she hedges, forcing herself to get the words out even though what she’s about to say makes her wince, “do you...I mean, have you and Minato slept together yet?”

“Oh, _have_ we!” Kushina blasts, slapping the counter. “Did you wanna hear about it?”

“N-not really,” Rin says, awed at how straightforward Kushina can be, though by now she should be used to it. “I just...with Kakashi, I haven’t yet, and–”

“Why not?” Kushina cocks her head. “Does he have an STD? Do _you_ have an STD?”

“God, no,” Rin says with a terse shake of her head, “that’s not–”

“Then what the hell’s stopping ya?” Kushina furrows her brows and leans in close. “Does he have that perv for a roommate? Minato warned me about him that one time we did it in his office.”

“You wh-perv?”

“The _lawyer,”_ Kushina says, folding her arms. “Jiraiya.”

“Uh, no,” Rin says, scratching her head and running that one through her brain to file away for later. “I don’t think Kakashi has a roommate.”

“I don’t have a roommate.”

Rin melts at the sound of his voice and rests her head in her hands to hide her burning face from his view. “Kakashi. You’re early for once.”

“Am I?”

Rin takes a deep breath to calm the rush of blood to her face as she looks up across the counter to find those hooded eyes revealing nothing as usual. Kakashi might be smug about overhearing their conversation if he’s been here long enough. He may simply be suspicious of what has Rin embarrassed enough to duck away from him. Or he may have absolutely no clue what is going on here but enjoys making Rin _think_ he knows something.

“You two can head out,” Kushina says as she gives Rin’s hip a bump, “for your _romantic evening._ I’m good here, ya know.”

“Kushina, it’s early,” Rin argues.

“Rin,” Kakashi says through gritted teeth, his eyes on Kushina like she’s a rabid dog and he’s the one she’s ready to bite, “don’t argue with Kushina.”

“He’s right, ya know.” Kushina shifts her gaze from Rin to smirk at Kakashi. “Glad you’re finally learning.”

Kakashi rolls his eyes. _“Kushina._ Rin, can we go?”

“Yeah, okay,” Rin says with a laugh. “Just let me get my things.”

As Rin ducks for her belongings, her heart begins to pound. She wants Kakashi to know she’s ready, but she’s worried she’ll say something that doesn’t come across the way she wants it to. She’s released the figurative reins that have been holding her back, but now she’s worried about running too far with the new slack she’s been given. after Kakashi makes his way to the employee side of the counter, Rin joins him by his side. Rin tries to smile up at him, but given the way he smiles back, she thinks she’s worrying him with the way she must look.

“Bye, Kushina,” Kakashi says as he reaches for the back door, pulling it open for Rin.

“G’night, you two!” Kushina calls from inside. “Have lots of _fun_ tonight!”

Rin presses her lips together to keep herself from an outburst which will be either laughing at or cursing Kushina. Shaking her head, she steps outside with Kakashi. Immediately after the cold envelopes Rin, Kakashi slings his arm over her shoulder and draws her into his warmth. They walk in silence along the back alley with cracked brick walls on either side of them, scuffing their feet through the gravel.

“So,” Kakashi says.

Rin nods and presses her face against his chest. “So.”

Kakashi clears his throat. Rin swears, through the thick material of his clothing, she can hear his heart beating rapidly. His fingers tighten around her shoulder, then loosen, fisting into the fabric before he even says anything. He’s nervous. And somehow, knowing he’s nervous makes Rin less so.

“I, uh...was wondering…” he says.

“Me, too,” Rin blurts. She cringes when she realizes she shouldn’t know what he’s saying - _doesn’t_ know what he’s saying - not yet. 

“Okay.” Kakashi answers with a deep chuckle. “Would you like to come to my place?”

He pulls back from their embrace to meet her eyes. Rin smiles. He sounded nervous before, but now he looks besotted. He looks absolutely enamored with her and if _that_ doesn’t push Rin over the edge, nothing will. 

Seized by the mood to play with him, Rin smiles. “May I ask...for what purpose?”

Kakashi rolls his eyes as he feigns serious consideration of his answer. “Maybe...I was hoping you could meet Pakkun.”

Rin laughs. She burrows her face into Kakashi’s chest and laughs, and laughs, and laughs through their walk as she wraps her arms around him. She _wants_ Kakashi. She wants him more than anything. But now she knows she’ll be comfortable being with him intimately. There won’t be any contrived pretenses between them when they’re naked in every sense of the word before each other’s eyes.

“He is _really_ going to love you,” Kakashi says.

He isn’t talking about Pakkun anymore. 

It’s clear in the way his voice drops as his hand slides down Rin’s arm and then rests on her hip. Rin snickers, but in spite of Kakashi’s choice of words, Rin begins to ache for his touch. When Kakashi cups her ass in this hidden cove of a dark alley, moisture pools between Rin’s legs. She sighs, sounding more wanton than intended. She _really_ wants Kakashi. She hates having to wait.

Rin seizes Kakashi by the lapel of his coat and pulls him down for a bruising kiss that burns and _feeds_ into her desire with the feel of his soft, soft lips. Her hair cascades like silk curtains around their faces as she presses her forehead to Kakashi’s, catching her breath from the exhilaration of it all.

“Let’s hurry,” she pants, peering up to meet his shadowed eyes with a smile in her gaze. “It’s cold out here.”

And she _so_ wants to be warmed by his touches from the inside out.


	12. New Item on the Menu

Kakashi’s hands are made for Rin’s skin. His touch is electric to her core, no matter what part of her he’s touching. Even the lightest pressure of his fingertip tracing her inner thigh makes Rin toss her head back and moan. When his body presses her into his mattress as he first fills her, the stretch is almost too much to bear. But then that throbbing pressure is just right, especially with that fascinating electricity of his velvety skin anchored where she can feel it most. His mouth sets it all off, hot and wet against her lips, her neck, her ears...until she becomes a panting, writhing mess in his arms.

“Rin! Rin!”

Obito. Obito?

Rin blinks away the confusion brought on by Obito’s voice to find herself transported back to the coffee house, her own face reflected in the beveled glass of the bathroom mirror. The brown eyes looking back at her are hazed with lust, the rounded cheeks flushed a dusky rose beneath the bright vanity light. The faucet in front of her drips slowly. The sound hits the porcelain like an anchor pulling Rin back to the present, away from her pleasure of drowning herself in favorite moments of indulging in her boyfriend. 

“Rin?” 

Rin shakes her head and flicks the water from her fingertips. “Y-yeah.”

“We need you to come out here and listen to this!”

“Will you  _ leave _ her alone.” Someone’s growl is muffled as Rin’s slippery fingers contend with the knob. “She’ll come out when she’s ready.”

“Rin never spends this long in the bathroom. I know she’s done in there. And she needs to hear  _ this. _ You’re crazy!”

“What do you, monitor her bathroom hab–”

“Rin!”

Rin wrests the door open and rounds the corner. “What?” 

Her eyes go wide at the sight of Obito yanking Kakashi across the counter by the lapel of his coat. Kakashi is too busy glaring daggers at Obito to catch the shock on Rin’s face. Kakashi, who Rin feels guilty about fantasizing about being with again while he was just in the other room, and who Rin is even more guilty of ogling now. She can’t help undressing him with her eyes. She can  _ see _ the bunching muscles of his scarred chest as he struggles with Obito. She doesn’t need to move his gray coat out of the way. She can also see his lean biceps flexing to a peak as he uses his arm to support himself on the stone ledge. Hell, she can even see what she knows is behind the  _ counter _ if she thinks about it hard enough.

“Ka-Kakashi!” she yelps, biting on her lip  _ hard _ to ward away any impure thoughts. “What are you - when did you get here?”

“I  _ thought,” _ Kakashi says as he grasps Obito’s fingers and pries them loose from his coat with a haughty snap of the fabric, “I would surprise you today. But then this idiot–”

“Oh, no,” Obito says through gritted teeth, pointing a rigid finger in Kakashi’s face. “You have no room to call  _ me _ an idiot when–”

“Okay,” Rin exhales, grimacing as she steps forward with the worst possible explanations exploding to life in her mind. “What is this about?”

Obito folds his arms tightly across his chest. “Let  _ him _ tell you.”

When he closes his eyes and raises his chin, looking absolutely done with this conversation, Rin raises a brow at Kakashi. “Kakashi?”

Kakashi sighs as he meets her eyes. His shrug tells more of the story than it probably should. Rin surmises that spending as much time with him as she has been in and around not only this coffee shop but both of their apartments these past few days has gifted her with the guidebook of How to Read Kakashi Hatake’s Nonverbals. Whatever the problem is, it’s something Kakashi is doing, has done, or  _ will _ do and he doesn’t want to talk about it here.

“Okay,” Rin drawls as she steps toward the table and retrieves her hanging coat from the back of a chair, “let’s step outside and have a talk then.”

It’s a brisk walk to follow Kakashi out the door. He  _ definitely _ doesn’t want Obito listening in on any of this. Whatever he’s about to say though, he’s already told Obito about some of it. Or Obito found out. Rin’s curiosity gnaws at her when Kakashi begins to slow his walk. She can’t imagine what Kakashi did to earn the title of Idiot from Obito  _ this _ time, but it must have something to do with her.

When their dead stop doesn’t result in Kakashi speaking immediately, or even meeting her eyes, Rin steps closer. “Kakashi?”

He turns into her approach, closing the space between them with a kiss. It’s public and therefore chaste as passerbys stare, but Rin is impressed that Kakashi is kissing her in this scenario at all. Whatever he has to say must really be bad. Or big. Maybe he  _ has been _ an idiot.

“Rin.” He exhales a cloud of fog, the warmth of their mingled breaths dissipating into autumn air. “You know I’ve been interviewing for different firms…”

“Yeah,” Rin nods, curling her fingers into his coat.

They’ve talked about this over shared coffees in the morning-afters. Kakashi staying in this city isn’t a definite thing. He has options. He’s one of the most promising law graduates in his class and apparently firms from all over the country have offered to pay to fly him out for interviews at their firms. And though the one here, where he’s interning now, was once run by his own  _ father _ and the current partner is a close family friend, Kakashi hasn’t given them a definite yes. It scares Rin to think of him leaving. Their relationship may be a whirlwind of fast development, but she’s enjoying every minute of it. She sees the potential and no matter how soon or how much later it may come, she isn’t ready for the disappointment it would cause to let this relationship end and watch him go.

Kakashi rubs the back of his head, ruffing his chaotic silver spikes. “Well, I turned them all down.” He takes a deep breath and blows it out. “Jiraiya and Minato want me to make partner at the firm some day. I can do some good here with the connections I’ve built. I don’t think I could ever leave Konoha.”

“That’s great!” Rin cries, squeezing her arms around him, not trying to sound  _ too _ enthused. “You’ll be happy here then?”

Kakashi squeezes his arm around Rin, enveloping her in feelings that have nothing to do with physical sensation. “Obviously.”

“You're sure?” Rin says as she pulls away to catch the honest reaction in his eyes. “You’re not…”

She wants to say  _ doing this for me, _ but bites back the question when she realizes how  _ presumptuous  _ that sounds. She worries her bottom lip between her teeth as she waits for Kakashi’s impressive pokerface to falter, but his eyes only crinkle at the edges as he smiles, holding her gaze.

“I’m sure,” Kakashi assures her softly.  _ “So _ sure actually, I might have...found a new apartment. Something a little more grown up than that shitty studio.”

“That’s great, too,” Rin says slowly, crinkling her brows as all of this good news fails to align with Obito’s accusations of idiocy. “Wait. Why is Obito calling you an idiot?”

As he envelops both of Rin’s hands in his, Kakashi meets her eyes with a steady gaze. “Well, I was hoping it could be  _ our _ apartment.”

“What?” Rin says, further crinkling her brows as Kakashi’s fingers squeeze around hers. “How could–”

“I know...it’s fast,” Kakashi says with a wince as his fingers loosen. “You don’t have to answer now.”

Rin gasps. She doesn’t have to answer now...about whether she wants to  _ move in with him. This _ is what Kakashi’s asking her. This is what Obito calls crazy and idiotic. Rin can’t blame him. 

“You want to move in together?” she says.

“I’m always staying over at your place, or you’re staying at mine,” Kakashi says with a shrug, looking at the shrubs near their feet. “This place...it’s closer to the hospital than your current apartment. And I know...Rin,” he sighs, “I know nothing can go wrong with us living together. I already know…”

He locks eyes with her, and for a few precious seconds, Rin swears she hears the word love mixed among her jumbled thoughts, but then she realizes Kakashi has gone silent. She  _ does _ know what he’s trying to say, though. He’s confident in the strength of this relationship. He knows they’ve built a good foundation and there’s nowhere to go from here but forward. Waiting would only be that - a wait. It would be a pause on life which has its own tendency to throw setbacks around when least expected. Slowing it down simply to follow the usual protocol isn’t practical. That isn’t  _ Kakashi. _ Rin smiles in spite of the stomach-flipping realization that she’s barely been dating this man a month and already she’s considering  _ living _ with him.

Rin nods and squeezes Kakashi’s fingers one last time before releasing them. “I’ll think about it. Are you going to...show me the place?”

Kakashi pulls his phone from his pocket, pulling up a listing with the swipe of his thumb. Rin turns him around as she peers over his shoulder, knowing they need to get back to the coffee house. Rin is down to her last few days there now. Madara will be spending more time at the coffee shop as he works to replace her, but for the time being, Obito is relying on Rin not to desert him. As Rin considers a pet-friendly two-bedroom with a quaint kitchenette, parking, stark white walls, and a location only a block from the hospital, she leans on Kakashi, turning her daydreams into something new.

Rin  _ could _ move in with Kakashi. She’d very much  _ like _ to. She only wishes she knew a way to tell whether she should.

* * *

_ “Obviously, _ you shouldn’t.” 

Obito has been adamant about this ever since Kakashi left them at the coffee shop. 

He rolls his eyes as he wipes a coffee spill with a fluffy white towel, smiling because apparently he finds this funny. It might seem silly to him, but to Rin, this is a serious thing to consider. She’s never lived with anyone outside of her own family before. This excites but also scares her - the multitude of problems she and Kakashi might encounter along the way. But she also already knows Kakashi is meticulous about his cleanliness while  _ she _ goes out of her way to considerately clean up after any mess she may leave behind. They’ll both be working full time, so the limited hours they’ll be spending together will be time for them to enjoy each other’s company. The apartment is a  _ much _ nicer place than where she lives now, better commute too. Other than the terrifying possibility of what may happen if things don’t work out between her and Kakashi down the road, Rin is having difficulty finding a reason to refuse his offer.

“Hey, hey!” Kushina stomps her foot and glares at Obito. “A girl’s got a right to make up her own damn mind about her life choices! Let Rin decide that for herself, ya know.”

Rin shoots her an appreciative smile. Ever since Kushina arrived here, Obito and Kushina have been going back and forth on this issue while Rin’s been mostly single-handedly dealing with their customers who come and go with raised eyebrows. Obito isn’t even on shift anymore. He could’ve left an hour ago. He’s just hanging around to talk at this point - and to try to win an argument with Kushina. The two of them are like an angel and a devil on Rin’s shoulder. She just doesn’t know which one is the devil.

“Isn’t he right, though?” Rin asks Kushina, stroking her chin as she considers it for what feels like the hundredth time. “I mean, it  _ is _ kind of fast.”

“Kind of?”

“Sometimes,” Kushina says as her hard exterior softens with the warmth of her smile, “you just gotta go with what you feel.”

She pats Rin’s shoulder as Rin exchanges a glance with Obito. Obito clearly thinks this whole idea is a disgrace. He already laid his feelings out to Rin both while Kakashi was still here to hear it and then after he left, having had enough of Obito’s mockery. It was only Kushina’s arrival and exuberant support of the idea that finally put a stop to Obito’s jokes. He’s not completely done arguing, but this doesn’t make Rin feel any less torn about her decision.

The door chime notifies them of their next customer, but before Rin can look up to their patron, Kushina is using the hand on Rin’s shoulder to gently shove her away.

“Don’t worry,” Kushina says with a click of her tongue, “I’ve got this one.”

When Rin looks past Kushina’s sauntering walk to the register to see the smiling face at the door, she smiles. Minato is still in his office clothes, though his button-up is loose and void of a tie, while the relaxed smile on his face conveys just as well how done he is with his work. Kushina pushes past the opening in the counter, swinging herself in front of him. She meets him with a kiss that smacks and echoes through the coffee shop. Rin giggles and looks at Obito, whose smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Hello, Rin,” Minato calls as he wraps his free hand around Kushina’s waist. “Obito.”

“Hey, Minato!” Obito calls across the coffee shop as he crosses his arms. “Can  _ you _ talk some sense into these women please? Or better yet, your stupid intern!”

“Kakashi?” Minato blinks clear blue eyes at Obito. “What did he do now?”

“He’s getting a new apartment.”

“Oh, yes,” Minato says brightly, “because he’s accepted our firm’s offer.”

“And asking Rin to move in with him.”

Minato’s lips part before he nods. “Oh.”

Obito raises his brows and laughs. “Stupid, right? Who makes such a commitment in such a short amount of time?” He glances at Kushina. “Are you taking Kushina out tonight?”

“I guess...you could say,” Minato says as he smiles down at Kushina, his face brightening to a rosy glow, “that we’re celebrating.”

To Rin’s surprise, Kushina’s cheeks also redden. They smile at one another, their smiles growing wider with each passing second until they look as if they are ready to burst.

“Celebrating what?” Obito asks.

Minato presses his forehead to Kushina’s. “You didn’t tell them yet.”

“I wanted us to tell them together, ya know.”

Rin feels her lungs getting tight as the couple giggles together, the tremble and rising pitches of their voices indicating even more excitement than the smiles they share. They’re building up to something big and Rin isn’t ready for what they’re about to say, not when she’s already so overwhelmed with Kakashi’s bomb dropped earlier.

Kushina writhes her fingers together hastily before striking her hand forward in a dainty pose where her knuckle sparkles. “Minato proposed!”

Rin gasps. “What?”

“What?” Obito blasts.

“And I said yes!” Kushina says as her smile lights the shop.

Obito grunts.  _ “What? _ Seriously?”

Minato chuckles. “I know it may seem...premature.”

“Rin,” Obito pleads as he looks at her,  _ “you _ think this is crazy, too, right? If Kakashi asks you to marry him tomorrow, tell me you’re not going to say yes.”

Rin works her mouth, struggling to find her voice, which escapes her in a whisper. “Wh-no. It’s - we’re not ready for that. But...I don’t know,” she says as she furrows her brows at their loving display. “Look at those two.”

Obito follows her gaze with disbelief obvious on his face. When Rin finishes admiring the way Minato and Kushina exchange soft kisses and quiet whispers, she casts a sideways glance at Obito. With his eyes fixed on the engaged couple, the strained creases of his expression have disappeared. His eyebrows are bowed as a smile creeps across his face. He sees it, too. Kushina and Minato have been dating...maybe two months. But they’re perfect together. It’s inspiring to see how confident they both are with this choice they’ve made.

And if two months is a reasonable time to consider marriage for some, maybe it isn’t so wrong for Rin to default to her instincts and let  _ them _ decide what is right for her.


	13. A Cup Between Friends

There are all of these decisions to make.

Rin rubs away the pressure building between her eyes when she thinks once again of that post-op patient she left at the hospital whose vitals checked out, whose status leaves her wondering if she’s made the wrong decision by not asking Tsunade to take another look at him. Rin’s decision to leave her job at the coffee shop is  _ already _ made, but she’s still bearing the weight of that decision as she heads there through the breezy, deceptively tranquil sunlit day now. The decision to answer Kushina’s question from earlier this morning - to be her Maid of Honor - is easy. It won’t conflict with Rin’s plans and even if it would, Rin will make it happen for Minato and Kushina.

As Rin reaches for the metal handle of the coffee shop door, she takes a deep breath and tries to shake the greatest indecision weighing on her mind. She tries  _ very hard, _ but once she opens the door, she fails. Because inside the coffee shop, she finds Obito  _ and Kakashi _ waiting. They’re not  _ waiting, _ though, because they’re too busy insulting each other to even notice her entrance or the door chime that’s signaled it. 

With a groan, Rin lets the door fall closed behind her and fumbles to shed her coat and bag. She’s been trying to give Kakashi an answer about moving in together. She didn’t expect to see him until later tonight. She knows which way she’s leaning, but knowing it and committing to it by telling him are two very different things. Seeing him here increases the pressure that has been blossoming between Rin’s eyes. It spikes at the same time her purse grabs the boys’ attention with a thump as she drops it to the table.

“Rin,” Kakashi says softly, calmly, like he  _ knew _ she was here while he continued to argue with Obito.

“Rin!” Obito  _ definitely _ didn’t notice her.

Rin presses a hand to her hip and looks between the two men standing a foot apart behind the coffee shop counter. “Do I need to ask what the problem is this time?”

She clenches her eyes shut when pressure rushes forth again. Before she gets her answer, Kakashi’s spicy scent invades her space and the press of a warm thumb between her brows dulls the pain.

“I’m sorry,” Kakashi says softly in her ear, “are we giving you a headache?”

“I’m surprised you noticed,” Rin says breathlessly as she leans into the blunt pressure kneading her forehead.

“I notice a lot of things.” Kakashi presses his lips to Rin’s forehead. 

It’s so warm and soft that Rin opens her eyes to the relief. Kakashi smiles down on her, being the grounding presence Rin needs right now. She feels such relief that she manages to forget Kakashi’s words.

“Like what?” Obito says, causing Rin to grunt and swivel her head in his direction. Obito crosses his arms. “What do you notice?”

Kakashi sideglances to the door, where a customer is walking in just as the door chimes. “Lots of things.”

Obito balks before waving Rin back and stepping up to the register. Apparently, he’s noticed her headache, too. She’s supposed to be here to help him, but she knows better than to argue with Obito when he’s taking care of her. Besides, Kakashi’s concerned focus is distracting.

“It’s the apartment, isn’t it?” Kakashi says with a sigh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to - if it’s putting too much pressure on you–”

Rin shakes her head, unable to bear watching sadness glaze over Kakashi’s lovely dark eyes. “I want - I think–”

She grabs him by the shirt and tugs him into the darkness of the back room. Obito can’t hear them here while he’s busy with the customer. Rin can’t believe she hasn’t realized it before. She’s ready to move in with Kakashi. She’s  _ been _ ready ever since the moment he asked. But one thing has been nagging at the back of her mind and flooding her with guilt, keeping her from making this big step. She knows what it is now as she watches her best friend come to her rescue once again. It’s unconventional, and she hates to ask it of Kakashi, but she has to try for Obito’s sake.

“I  _ want _ to move in with you,” Rin tells Kakashi as she holds his gaze, “I would love to live with you, Kakashi.”

Even as she smiles, Kakashi narrows his eyes. “But?”

“There’s a second bedroom, right?”

Kakashi raises an eyebrow. “So?”

Rin bites her lip. “Obito. He - why can’t we ask him–”

“Uh, no.”

“You’ve seen his apartment, right?” Rin argues, fighting not to raise her voice at Kakashi’s cold refusal. “He’s practically living in a cave. His laundry is in the building's damp  _ basement.  _ It’s - all I want to do is offer the extra room if he wants to split the rent with us.”

Kakashi sighs. His eyes grow heavy and he slouches like he’s tired of this conversation already. He glances over his shoulder, where Obito is involved in a casual conversation with the customer. When Kakashi looks back at Rin, his tired expression doesn’t waver.

Maybe this isn’t her  _ best _ idea. Rin rolls her eyes. Just the way Kakashi is looking at her has her doubting her intentions. But it isn’t just that look giving her hesitation. She saw the way they were arguing when she arrived here. She can’t recall a single time her boyfriend and her best friend have interacted without at least some teasing. She’s sure  _ she _ can live with Kakashi, but Obito’s messy habits and loud presence won’t be the best combination with Kakashi’s near-obsessive way of doing things, not to mention his pug whom Obito isn’t too fond of.

“Rin,” Kakashi pleads, “can he even cover rent on a coffee house salary?”

Rin slaps his shoulder on reflex. It stings her palm. “Don’t be a dick!”

“Ouch,” Kakashi hisses as he winces and rubs his shoulder.

“Obito isn’t living on a  _ coffee house salary _ any more than I am. He’s inheriting the business. This place is going to be his soon, Kakashi. Madara is retiring.”

Kakashi blinks. “Oh.”

“Anyway, can’t we as–”

“You really want to ask?” Kakashi purses his lips and shakes his head at the sight of Obito waving at the customer leaving with a coffee and a brown-bagged treat in his hands. “Go ahead. But he’s not going to like it.”

“What?” Rin blinks. “Why wouldn’t he?”

Kakashi levels her with his gaze. The look in his eyes implores Rin to see how obvious the complication is here. Rin knows those two won’t find it easy living together, but Obito has to think it’s better than where he lives currently. It can’t hurt him to consider it. Rin would  _ like _ to think he’d like to be close to her. She’s always wanted a roommate she could call a friend, someone better than the girls she’s been saddled with in the past. Obito has to at least appreciate the offer, even if he doesn’t want to take it. That will be completely up to him. Rin won’t put any pressure on him at all. But she has to ask.

“You two can work past it,” Rin says, shooting Kakashi a teasing smile as she takes him by the hand. “Even if I have to make you two hold hands, I’ll find a way for you to get along.”

Kakashi shakes his head. “Rin.”

“Is your head feeling better?” Obito asks, smiling around the corner as he comes into the back room with them.

Rin presses her palm to where her head is no longer throbbing. “Yeah, actually.”

“Good!” Obito squints at Kakashi. “What’s the problem now?”

Kakashi shoots a glance in Rin’s direction before turning away. “Nothing. I’m needed at the office. Forgot some paperwork for Jiraiya.”

“Wait,” Rin calls to his back. “Kakashi!”

He doesn’t stop. Rin scowls as he passes through the shop, the door chime indicating his exit after he’s out of view. Rin folds her arms and looks at Obito, surprised to see he does not at all look concerned about Kakashi’s abrupt exit.

“What were you two fighting about?” she asks, suspecting that’s to blame for Kakashi’s behavior.

“Nothing,” Obito huffs, glaring toward the door. “Kakashi being his usual asshole self again.”

“Let’s go up to the front,” Rin suggests, rocking off the table ledge to dart through the back room door, “I want to be able to see if any customers are coming.”

“Why?” Obito laughs, pinching Rin’s side as she passes him. “Looking to get into trouble with me and you don’t want to get caught?”

Rin laughs and squirms from the grip that tickles. “No, Obito!”

“What would your boyfriend say?” Obito says with a gasp.

Rin beams at the playful smile on his face. Obito’s turned his mood around. He insisted the thing with Kakashi was nothing, which it usually is. If Kakashi is willing to let Rin invite Obito to live with them, Rin surmises there must be no serious problem between them. They’re up to their usual bickering as usual. Even if that continues while living together, Rin supposes she and Pakkun can be buffers for them. She still wants Obito to move in.

“So, here’s the thing,” she says as she leans on the front counter, deciding to lay it out. “I told Kakashi I’ll move in with him.”

Obito’s jaw drops. “What?”

“We’re going to live together!” Rin says, injecting pep in her voice, hoping Obito can latch onto her enthusiasm like he so often does. “I’m a little nervous, but mostly excited, and–”

“Well, yeah,” Obito laughs, “good luck living with  _ that _ jerk. Rin, are you  _ sure _ about this?”

“Aw, come on,” Rin coaxes, “Kakashi can’t be  _ that _ hard to live with.”

“I once placed his game disc on the wrong shelf,” Obito says with a raised brow. “That was the  _ first time _ I was at his place, Rin. Like I knew where anything should belong. He  _ still _ won’t shut up about it.”

Rin tries not to grimace, but then part of her wants to laugh. Yes, Obito makes life in that apartment sound difficult with the three of them, potentially for herself even, but for some reason the thoughts of it excite her.

“Have you really thought about this long and hard?” Obito says with a knowing smile.

“Yes,” Rin answers with confidence. “And I - Kakashi and I want to invite you to move in, too.” When Obito knits his brows at her, Rin amends quickly, “If you want to take the second bedroom, it’ll only be a third of the rent. It should be just as affordable as where you’re living now, but much nicer.”

Obito clenches his jaw. “You really can’t stand my apartment.”

“No!” Rin cries, waving her hands as she senses she’s offended him. “It’s not like that. I just - I’m trying to sell the idea. I thought you’d like living with me. And him. I...like being around you.”

“I like being around you too, Rin,” Obito says with a small smile, the sadness that’s crept in seeming to expire as he meets her eyes. “I’m really going to miss you working here.”

Rin throws her arms around Obito, hugging him close. “I’m going to miss this, too. So...does that mean you  _ want _ to move in?”

Obito taps Rin’s forearm, indicating for her to break her hold on him. Sensing his change in demeanor, Rin pulls away warily. Before he speaks, she already knows what he’s going to say.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Obito whispers, holding Rin’s gaze with a small smile. “You want this thing with Kakashi to work, don’t you, Rin?”

Rin feels a smile spread her lips. Thinking of the possibilities of where her relationship with Kakashi can lead is intoxicating. There are so many steps ahead of them, so many miles down the road for them to explore and get lost together and discover new destinations along the way. She wants it to work. She wants to enjoy every minute of their journey along this road of life they’re set to travel.

“Yes, Obito,” she says with a nod. “I want it to work, of course.”

“Then,” Obito says as he clasps his hand over hers, “don’t you want your own space with Kakashi to figure things out?”

“Obito, I–”

“I want you to be happy,” he says softly as he releases her hand. “That’s all I ever wanted for you.”

Rin sighs and shakes her head. “What would I ever do without you, Obito?”

Obito scoffs and rolls his eyes. “You’d have to count on  _ Kakashi.” _

“Hey,” she admonishes softly, “he’s very dependable.”

“Yeah, I know,” Obito groans.

“I’ll be watching out for you, Obito,” Rin says as she flicks his chin, directing his gaze back to her. “Who knows? Maybe at Kushina and Minato’s wedding, I’ll match you up with a hot date.”

Obito shakes his head and smiles. “Whatever you say, Rin.” He leans into her, burrowing his head in her shoulder as he sighs. “As long as you’ll be there to keep me safe from Kushina.”

“Why should Kushina–”

“Have you ever heard of Bridezilla?” Obito says, his voice muffled in Rin’s shoulder as Obito quakes with laughter. “It’ll be like regular Kushina times twenty. I’m just going to...stay out of her way that day.”

Rin laughs as she imagines Kushina looking ethereal in white taffeta and lace while acting like an absolute beast. The genuine laughter bubbling up from her chest is a familiar experience with Obito which she embraces. She never wants to lose this. She has plenty of pleasant new feelings coming her way as she experiences more with Kakashi, but she’ll always cherish what she has with her friends.

Rin is ready to pursue her future, even if she has to go her own way.


	14. Ordering Together

Her legs are weighed down in a tangle of silky sheets and warm limbs, her back sinking into a plush mattress. When Rin’s eyes flutter open, she marvels at her new sunlit surroundings. She has to strain her neck to look up and out the paned window, because currently their mattress resides on the floor, surrounded by piles of boxes. This is her first of many mornings waking in her new apartment.

“Good morning.”

As Rin inhales, her air is smothered by the lips capturing hers with a sloppy morning kiss. She smiles, her lips stretching before the lips closing around hers move to her cheek to press a trail of kisses gently along her skin. Rin’s breath hitches as Kakashi’s lips trail down her neck, sinking into the dip in her clavicle. She knows where he’s headed when the sheets fold back to reveal her bare chest to the apartment walls.

A growl sounds in her ear, and it’s  _ not _ Kakashi.

“Pakkun,” Kakashi grumbles into Rin’s chest, collapsing his weight on her.

An alarm chants in Rin’s ear just before the mattress dips at her side. Rin laughs as Pakkun passes toward the foot of the bed and around her feet as she slaps the alarm. She moves her hand from the top of her alarm to her other side, where a furry body wiggles under her grasp. Pakkun’s scrunchy black snout is in her face, his tiny pink tongue jutting out.

“Good morning, Pakkun,” Rin mumbles.

“Out of the bed,” Kakashi says, lazy but firm. “You need to learn this is  _ Rin’s _ space now.”

“Oh?” Rin says as Pakkun slips away and Kakashi curls around her, pinning her down with strong limbs and a tight stretch of sheets, “and what am I supposed to do in this space?”

“Me.”

Rin giggles into the lips pressing against hers as her chin is tilted up by gentle fingers to meet them. “I have to get dressed. I can’t be late.”

“Can’t you?” Kakashi drawls, his husky voice so alluring it almost tempts her into staying here despite the fact that people might literally  _ die _ if Rin isn’t there to do her job. “If you give my office a cover story, I’ll make one up for you.”

“Tell you what,” Rin says, running her hand down the hard center of Kakashi’s chest as she tries not to think of what waits for her beneath the sheets. “Let’s get out of bed now, and if we move fast enough, we can get a cup of coffee together before work.”

“Or…” Kakashi says with a kiss to Rin’s chest, drawing dangerously close to a place where she won’t be able to draw the line any further, “we could use that time right here and brew a quick cup in  _ our _ kitch–”

The mattress shakes as Kakashi is pried away from Rin’s body by a wrinkled mound at the head of the mattress that dives between them with claws scratching at the edges of Rin’s arm, dragging moist and slimy drool along her bicep.

“Pakkun!” she cries as she recoils to the edge of the mattress.

Kakashi groans. “First thing I’m doing when I get home from work is setting up this bed frame.”

“It’s just as well,” Rin says with a sigh as she stumbles out of the sheets to wrap herself in the plush robe she’s left on the carpet beside the mattress. “I have no idea where the coffee maker even is. Besides, you can’t make a cold brew in the morning. Let’s go.”

She kicks the plush mattress, watching her painted red toenails disappear into the fabric. Kakashi groans and buries his face in his pillow until Pakkun flops on Kakashi’s bare back. As Pakkun plants himself on top of his master, Kakashi lets out a muffled groan and spreads his muscled limbs. Rin hums a contented laugh under her breath. 

This place already feels like home.

* * *

The chill of the autumn morning has never been more welcoming than it is today. Rin is sure she’s enjoying this walk to the coffee house more so because of her current situation rather than the actual weather. But as she leans on Kakashi’s arm with leaves sweeping past their boots, with passing pedestrians admiring the two of them together, she finds all the warmth and comfort she could want.

The coffee house looks like it’s getting busy. They’re arriving just in time to beat the  _ real _ morning traffic, however. And when they walk inside, Rin is pleased to find they are not the only ones stopping at their favorite coffee shop before heading into work this morning.

Minato is leaned over the counter, whispering to a blushing Kushina who pours his espresso slower than Rin has ever seen her put together a drink. Kushina doesn’t seem to mind that there are two customers behind Minato or that Rin and Kakashi have just added themselves to the line. Rin feels a wave of nostalgia as she presses her lips together, tamping her desire to jump behind that counter and help. She doesn’t work here anymore. And as a woman emerges from the back room with a serious face, long black hair and an armful of cups and lids, Rin realizes now someone else  _ does. _ She doesn’t have to be the one to help at the coffee shop anymore. Now she can just be here to enjoy her coffee and friends.

When Minato finally turns from Kushina, his eyes light on Rin and Kakashi. He joins them by their side, veering from his original destination of the door.

“Good morning, Minato,” Rin says.

“Good morning, you two,” Minato says, eyes sweeping appraisingly over the two of them as he carefully sips from his steaming lid. “Kakashi, if you don’t mind, I’ll wait with you so we can walk to the office together.”

“Fine by me.” Kakashi slips his hands into his trenchcoat pockets. “Thanks for setting Kushina in a good mood for us.”

Minato laughs as Kakashi nods to the counter, where Kushina works with an ever-present smile, dancing around like a fairytale princess to serve the customers ahead of them. “It’s lucky for you that I was here. I think Kushina is not very happy with Madara for sticking her with Mikoto’s training while he’s just sitting there in the back room.”

Rin grimaces and glances at the dark doorway. “Madara’s here?”

“Mikoto,” Kakashi drawls, his eyes tracking the new hire. “She’s Rin’s replacement?”

Minato nods. “I think she and Kushina will become good friends. Mikoto is recently married, so they’re already discussing bridal plans. She’s a relative of Obito’s too, so hiring her was an easy decision once they knew she wanted a parttime job.”

“Obito,” Rin says, tightening the curl of her arm around Kakashi’s. “I’m sorry to see he’s not here this morning. I was hoping to give him the good news that we’ve finally signed the lease and settled in.”

“We can text it to him,” Kakashi says with a shrug.

“No,” Rin says, “I’ll tell him in person. I want him to know how much I love the apartment.”

“The apartment?” Kakashi scoffs, pressing his hand to his chest as if he’s hurt. “Ouch.”

_ “And _ you,” Rin says with a smile.

She does love him. She’s never told him, and this isn’t exactly a confession, but nothing has ever felt easier to say. Nothing has ever felt more right.

The customer ahead of them turns away, cup of coffee in hand and smiling nod to Kushina indicating that it is their turn. Rin beams as she steps to the counter, guided by the light of Kushina’s brilliant smile. From behind Kushina, Mikoto looks at them curiously.

“Rin!” Kushina says as she props a hand on her hip. “Kakashi! Fancy seeing you here. And  _ Minato,” _ she drawls teasingly as she pins her eyes on her lover, “can’t stop coming back for more, can ya? Mikoto!” she yells over her shoulder. “Meet my friends, Rin and Kakashi. Rin’s going to be my maid of honor.”

Mikoto steps forward with poise, her long black hair a beautiful contrast to Kushina’s long, fiery red. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

“Rin?” Madara calls from the back as a slouched figure draped in white hair moves slowly from the dark void of the back room. His eyes seem to shimmer red as they lock on her. “Rin Nohara. I hope you can keep those patients alive in your new role as their nurse.”

Rin smiles. Coming from Madara, that sounds like ‘good luck’. He probably thinks it’s a compliment. What it is, though, is the closest thing to a seal of approval she’s ever heard from her old boss.

“I’ll do my best,” she assures him.

“So,” Kushina says. As Madara ducks into the back room, she brings Rin’s attention to the counter as she slaps her palm on the stone and leans into it. “This order’s to-go, I assume. And what are ya drinking?”

Rin looks up into Kakashi’s fond gaze and smiles. “Two medium cold brews.”

Kushina raises a brow, but shrugs off any questions as she turns and directs Mikoto to pour the drinks. Rin slips her hand into Kakashi’s pocket, threading her fingers around his hand and joining it with hers. She wants to be closer to him. She also wants to indulge in that smooth richness he loves in this drink. She does love the purity of coffee. She loves the purity of sharing things with Kakashi. 

And now, she’ll never have to stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I had a lot of fun with this fluffy idea and enjoyed the process of getting it out there quickly and sharing it with everyone who’s been reviewing ❤️ Hopefully you didn’t all get tired of my replies. If you are here solely for the KakaRin pairing, the story ends here. But if you’re in this for Team Minato...there is a follow up longfic coming with a much different tone which I hope you’ll enjoy just as much (or more)


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